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CULTURE. 



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i ^.MAY 25 fgftfi ^ I 

PRACTICAL RETAILS, 



From the Selection and P*reparation of tlie Seed and the 

Soil, to Harvesting, Curing and Marketing the Crop, 

Including several Illustrative ENG-RAVINGJ-S. 



PLAIN DIRECTIONS AS GIVEN 



BY FOURTEEN EXPERIENCED CULTIVATORS, 

Residing in different parts of the United States, most of whom have 
had long practice in the growing of Tobacco. 

ALSO, NOTES ON THE TOBACCO WORM, WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FOURTEENTH THOUSAND. 

Netv - York : 
PUBLISHED BY ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 
75 I B ROADWAY. 



o! BnUred, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1863, by ORANOB JITDD, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
i^S 3> — ~\ Court of the United States for the 8outheni District of New-York. ^^p~^ 




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5 PRACTICAL DETAILS, 

From the Selection and Preparation of the Soil, and Setting and Cultivation of the 
Plants, to Picking, Drying, Pressing, and Marketing the Crop. 

PLAIN DIItBCTIOKS, 



AS OIVBN BT TEN 



Eesiding in the best Hop-Growing Sections in the United States. 
UUOSTRATED WITH OVER FORTY ENGRAVINGS. 



New - York : 

PUBLISHED BY OUANG^E JUDD COMBANV, 

75 i Broadway. 




EniwMl, Kccoriliti' u Act •( Canp-Mi, In th« jrcAT 1M6, bj OKAiitM JvB>, la tb* Clwk't OOc* *f 
tb« Diauict C«ort of tbs L'niUii 9ut*« far th« SoaUxra Dinrict of N*w-Tsrk. 



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TOBACCO CULTURE. 



PRIZE ESSAYS. 



EXPIjANATION'. — February 1st, 1868, the Editor of the American AoRicnLTURHT oEfered Thirty Dollars, In threi 
Prizes for the best practical essays on the culture of Tobacco, to be written by experienced growers, and to emk race full particu 
lars, from selecting seed, and preparing the ground, to harvesting, curing, and marketing the crop — all to be written out so ])lainly 
as to be servicealile to the inexperienced cultivator, and to be in the shortest limits possible and yet give all needed inforniution. 
Quite unexpectedly, the response was so general that over eighty essays were sent in from different parts of the country. These 
were handed over to a competent committee of three, who devoted most of their time for ten days to a careful examination o, 
the essays. Tliey were puzzled to decide upon the respective merits of several articles, as each writer embraced some items not 
referred to by others. After mature deliberation, they decided that, according to the terms of the offer, the first article below was 
entitled to the first prize ; tlie second in order to the second prize, while the next three were so nearly equal in merit that they 
could not make a distinction, and they recommended to the Editor of the Agricultorist to increase the amount offered, and 
award an amount equal to the third prize to each of these three writers. This was cheerfully acceded to. As but one of the arti- 
cles could be published in the Agricultcrist, it was deemed best to select a considerable number of the best essays, and present them 
)n the form of a book or pamphlet. This gives the reader the benefit of the experience of a large number of practical cultivators, 
residing in various parts of the country. Nearly every one of the writers refers to some item not discussed by others. It li 
believed tliat this little work contains the most complete information upon the subject of Tobacco Culture to be found in the ; 
Ciuntry. 



Wo. I.-BY JUDSON POPENOE, OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, OHIO. 



1 COMMENCED the Cultivation of tobacco about fifteen 
years ago ; I therefore write from experience, and shall 
try to give that experience, in a short and plain way. 

Varietiks. — I have cultivated various kinds of to- 
bacco, but have come to the conclusion that what we 
call the Ohio seed-leaf is the best and most profitable 
kind for general cultivation. There are other kinds of 
tobacco that sometimes are profitable, and do well, 
but most of these do not cure out so well, nor color so 
evenly, nor are they so fine and salable as the seed- 
leaf. The Havana tobacco is too small and has not 
the fine flavor of the imported. The Connecticut seed- 
leaf I believe to be identical with our Oiiio seed-leaf; 
the difference in the climate may make a slight varia- 
tion in the quality, but we plant the Connecticut seed- 
leaf here in Ohio, and I don't think they can be told 
apart. The most of the tobacco raised in this dis- 
trict is the seed-leaf, which is strong evidence that it 
is the best and most profitable kind to raise here. 

Seed. — At topping-time a few of the most thrifty 
stalks should be left to grow without topping, for 
seed. When the crop is cut, let the seed-stalks stand, 
stripping off the leaves and suckers. As soon as the 
seed-pods are black, the seed is matured ; then cut off 
the seed-heads below the forks of the plant, and hang 
them in a dry place, out of the reach of mice, to cure. 
At leisure time, during the winter, strip the seed-pods 
(Voin off the stalk, rub them in the hands until the 
seed is rubbed oat, sift through a fine sifter, put in a 
dry place, secure from vermin of all kinds, and it is 
ready to sow. I have sowed seed six years old which 
grew as well as new seed. I think it is a good plan to 
raise seed enough at any time to sow for ten years, as 
it is thought to deteriorate by constant raising without 
changing. If seed snaps or pops when it is thrown 
oa a hot stove, it will grow. 



Preparing Seed Beds. — There are two plans of pre- - 
paring beds for sowing seed ; the first, and best, is to ■ 
spade or plow a bed in rich, dry ground, with a south- 
ern exposure; the south end of a barn is a good 
place, as the reflection helps to warm the ground. 
Where you have tobacco-stalks, as you make a fur- 
row with the plow or spade, fill one third full with 
the stalks and tiu-n the next furrow over them, and so 
continue until tlic bed is broken up. The stalks hold 
moisture, make the bed warm, and help to drain it. 
Take well-rotted hog manure and spread over the bed, 
to the depth of about two inches, then harrow or 
rake until the manure is thoroughly mixed with the 
surface of the bed, and all is Avell pulverized, and aa 
fine as garden mold. For a bed one rod wide and four 
rods long take two common-sized table-spoonfuls (as • 
much as will lie on conveniently) of seed and mix it 
with four quarts of ashes, or slacked lime, and sow 
broadcast ; the ashes will enable the seed to be sowed 
evenly; then take a hand-roller and roll the bed even- 
ly, or place a board on one end of the bed, walk on 
it to press the ground to the seed, move it over, and 
repeat this until the bed is all pressed over. Another 
plan is to burn a large brush-heap in a clearing, or on 
any new ground, in the evening ; in the morning dig 
the ground up with the ashes on ; while warm, rakp 
the bed fine and sow the seed as above directed. Very 
little weeding is required where the ground is burned, 
as the fire destroys the weed and grass-seeds. 

If the weather is dry, the plants will need watering 
after they are sprouted, (which will be in about three 
weeks ;) in fact, the surface of the bed should be kept 
constantly moist ; the beds snoiud be kept clear of 
weeds ; do not let the weeds get a start of your plants, 
or they will soon choke them out. If the plan<S grow 
well and evenly, the above-sized bed will plant four e* 



now TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



Bre acres, but it is always safe lo have two or three 
Bucb beds, to guard against a failure, and to supply 
your neighbors. The usual time to sow is from the 
middle of March to the tenth of April, or as soon as 
the ground admits of working in the spring. I have 
known seed sown in the fill make good plants, but do 
not recommend it. 

Soil. — A rich, sandy, second bottom, I believe to be 
the best for raising tobacco, although our chocolate- 
colored uplands, when very rich and highly manured, 
will grow an excellent quality of tobacco, but will not 
yit4d as much to the acre. Black river-bottoms will 
yield more to the acre than any other kind of land, 
but the tobacco is not of so fine a quality ; it grows 
larger, has coarser stems, and heavier body, and con- 
sequently, in my opinion, is not so good for wrappers 
or fine cut as the second bottom or upland tobacco. 

Manuring and Preparing for Planting. — Tobacco 
is a gross feeder and grows rapidly when once started, 
therefore needs plenty of food to make it grow well. 
There should be a good coat of clover to plow under ; 
if the ground is naturally rich, this alone will make a 
good crop, but hog and stable-manure, well rotted, is 
what the tobacco, as well as any other crop, delights 
in, and the more manure the better the tobacco. The 
plan that I am now experimenting on is, as soon as I 
cut my tobacco in the fall I give the ground a good 
harrowing, and then drill in wheat ; the ground being 
well cultivated all the fall, is clear of weeds and mel 
low and needs no plowing. In the spring I sow clo- 
ser, after the wheat is off ; I keep the stock off until 
ftl>out September, to give the clover a chance to harden 
and spread. I then let the stock eat as low as they 
want to, which drives the clover to root and causes 
the crown to spread ; I do not suffer stock to run on 
the clover during winter or spring ; about tlie last of 
May or first of June I plow the clover under, which is 
now in blossom, and so I alternately keep two fields 
in tobacco and wheat, at the same time feeding the 
ground a crop of clover every two years ; in this way 
I expect my land to increase in fertility all the time. 
The clover lurned under makes food for the cut-worms, 
and they trouble the tobacco-plants but little. We 
now narrow thoroughly, following in the same way 
that we plow, to make the sod lie flat and not drag 
up ; next the roller is put on, and after the ground is 
well rolled it should be again harrowed, and, if clod- 
dy, rolled again. Make the ground in the best condi- 
tion possible, so that the roots of the tobacco will 
have no difficulty in penetrating the soil and searching 
for food. My plan is to furrow east and west three 
feet apart, north and south three and a half feet. I 
plow the tobacco both waj's, but do all the hoeing, 
suckering, etc., north and south. Some mark out the 
ground three feet each way, but I think it is too close. 
If the tobacco is large, three feet does not give room 
to work among it conveniently. I mark out the 
ground with a small one-horse plow, going east and 



west first, finishing the way that I make my hills. The 
usual way to make the hills is with the hoe, making 
the hill where the farrows cross each other, drawing 
the dirt into a hill about as large as for covering corn 
or potatoes. With the flat part or bnck of the ho'- 
press or flatten the hill down to the level of the sur- 
fiice of the ground, taking care to have it clear ol 
clods or rubbish. I generally make my hills with 
what we call a jumping-shovel — the frame of a sin- 
gle shovel-plow, made light, with a shovel about eight 
inches square, put on in the place of tlie common 
shovel. Hitch a steady horse to this, start him in the 
furrows, dip the shovel in the middle of tlie furrows, 
and raise it, depositing the dirt at the cross of the fur- 
rows. Have a hand following to level and pat down 
the hills, and take out clods. In tliis way I made, 
with the assistance of a boy fifteen years old, about 
fifteen thousand hills in a day, while with the hoe 
alone three or four thousand is a good day's work. 

Setting out Plants. — From tlie first to the fifteenth 
of June is the proper time, although, if it is seasonable, 
up to the fourth of July will do, but the sooner after 
the first of June the better. By this time, with pro- 
per care and attention, the plants are large enough. 
The ground should be well saturated with rain, and a 
cloudy day is much the best. Immediately after a 
rain, or between showers, call out all the force, for 
the work is pressing; the success of the crop de- 
pends on getting it out at the right time ; all hands go 
to the plant-beds, pull the largest plants one at a 
time ; don't let two stick together, or the boys will 
drop them together and a plant will be lost. After 
the baskets are full, let one hand continue to pull 
plants. Put the little boys and girls to dropping one 
plant on the side of each hill ; let those who stick take 
an extra plant in the hand, drawing the leaves together 
in the left hand, and with the fore-finger of the right 
hand make a hole in the center of the hill deep 
enough to receive the full length of the roots without 
the top root bending up ; insert the plant up to the 
collar with the left hand; stick the fore-finger of the 
right hand one or two inches from the plant, and press 
the dirt well up against the roots, taking care that the 
dirt is pressed so as to fill up the hole. Pick up the 
plant on the side of the hill, and as you step to the 
next hill arrange it for sticking ; in this way you al- 
ways stick the plant that you pick from one hill in 
the next, thereby greatly facilitating the work. Some- 
times the ground is not sufficiently wet, and the sun 
coming on the plant is apt to injure it; at such times 
take a small clod and lay it on the heart of the plant 
to keep the sun off, removing the clod in the evening. 
As soon as the plants have started, the first time the 
ground is wet enough re-plant where they have died out 

Cultivation. — As soon as the plants have taken 
root and commenced to grow, begin to use a double 
shovel-plow, having the shovel next the tobacco, about 
three inches wide and six or eight inches long ; do not 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



go too close to the hill, or you may displace the plant ; 
f jUow with a hoe, removing all grass and weeds, leav- 
ing the tobacco master of the situation. Dig gently 
the surface of the hill, and draw a little fine dirt around 
the plant, and strive to keep the soil around the hill 
as mellow as possible without disturbing the plant. 
After going over in this manner, plow the opposite 
way, going twice in a row. Some prefer the cultiva- 
tor for going over the first two times, and, I think, 
perhaps it would be preferable, as it pulverizes the 
ground better than the shovel-plow. After going over 
the field twice, in the above manner, commence again 
with the double shovel-plow, the way the tobacco was 
planted, following with the hoe, giving it a good hoeing 
as before. Use your judgment about the amount of 
tillage needed ; keep clear of weeds ; keep the ground 
mellow, and when the plants have spread so that they 
are bruised by the hoe and plow, stop cultivating. 

Worms. — As soon as worms appear, which is general- 
ly when the leaves areas big as a man's hand, go over 
the tobacco, looking carefully at every plant. The 
worms usually stay on the under side of the leaf; if 
you see a hole in the leaf, no matter how small, raise 
it up and you will generally find a worm under it. 
Worming can not be done too carefully. Miss one or 
two worms on a plant, and before you are aware of it 
the plant is nearly eaten up. When you find a worm , 
take hold of it with the thumb and fore-finger, giving 
your thumb that peculiar twist vvhich none but those 
who are practiced in it know how to do, and put the 
proper amount of pressure on, and my word for it you 
will render his wormship harmless. Worming has to 
be continued until the tobacco is cut ; the last worm- 
ing to be immediately preceding cutting and housing. 

Topping. — The tobacco is ready to top when the 
button (as the blossom or top of the stalk is called) 
has put out sufficiently to be taken hold of, without 
injury to the top leaves. As tobacco is not regular in 
coming into blossom, it is the usual practice to let 
those stalks that blossom first, run a little beyond their 
time of topping, and then top all that is in button as 
you go. There is no particular hight to top at, but 
as a general thing sixteen to eighteen leaves are left; 
judgment is necessary to determine where to top ; if 
topped too high, two or three of the top leaves are so 
small as not to amount to much ; if topped low, the 
tobacco spreads better ; if just coming out in top, 
reach down among the top leaves, and with thumb and 
fore-finger pinch the top or button off below two or three 
[eaves ; if well out iu top, break off several inches 
down from the button and four or five leaves below it. 

SucKERiNG. — As soon as the tobacco is topped the 
suckers begin to grow ; one shoots out from the stalk 
at the root of each leaf, on the upper side. When the 
top suckers are from three to four inches long, the 
Buckering should be done ; with the right hand take 
hold of the top sucker, with the left take hold of the 
next, close to the stalk, and break them off, and so 



proceed, using both hands, stooping over the stalk, 
taking care not to injure the leaf. Break the uuckcrs 
about half-way down the stalk, the balance being too 
short to need removing until the second suckering. Iu 
about two weeks from topping, the tobacco is ready to 
cut ; now give it the last worming and suckering, 
breaking all suckers off down to the ground, and re- 
move every worm, if you don't want your tobacco eaten 
in the sheds. 

Cai'TiNG AND Housing. — As a general rule tobacco 
should be cut in about two weeks from topping, at 
which time the leaves assume a spotted appearance 
and appear to have fulled up thicker; double up the 
leaf and press it together with thumb and finger, and, 
if ready to cut, the leaf where pressed will break crisp 
and short. Do not let your tobacco get over-ripe or 
it will cure up yellow and spotted ; it is better to cut 
too soon than too late. Take a hatchet or short corn- 
knife, grasp the stalk with the left hand, bend it well 
to the left, so as to expose the lower part of the stalk, 
strike with the knife just at the surface of the ground, 
let the stalk drop over on the ground without doul)ling 
the leaves under, and leave it to wilt. The usual prac- 
tice is to worm and sucker while the dew is on in the 
morning, and as soon as the dew is off to commence 
cutting. There are some who advocate cutting in the 
afternoon, say three o'clock ; let it wilt and lie out until 
the dew is off next day, and take it in before the sun 
gets hot enough to burn it. I prefer the first plan, 
because a heavy dew may f\Ul on the tobacco, and next 
day be cloudy, leaving the tobacco wet and unpleasant 
to handle. After cutting allow the tobacco to wilt 
long enough to make the leaves tough, so that thL7 
can be handled without tearing. Great care is now 
necessary to keep the tobacco from sun-burning ; cut- 
ting should be commenced as soon as the dew is off, 
and all that is cut should be housed by eleven o'clock, 
unless it is cloudy ; from eleven to two o'clock the 
direct rays of the sun on the tobacco, after it is cut, 
will burn the leaves in twenty minutes ; after two, as a 
general thing, there is no danger of such burning, ths 
sun's rays not striking direct on the tobacco. Have a 
wagon at hand, with stiff boards, twelve feet long, laid on 
the running gears ; as soon as the tobacco is wilted so 
that it can be handled without breaking, commence 
loading on both sides of the wagon on the front end, 
lapping the tobacco the same as loading fodder, keep- 
ing the buts out on both sides — build about two feet 
high, and so on until loaded. 

Tobacco Barn.— Mine is 50 by 33 feet, with 18 feel 
posts ; the tiers are four and a half feet apart. I hang four 
full tiers of tobacco, and hang between the purline plates 
in the comb, a half tier ; the bents of the frame are 16 J 
feet apart. I hang on four-feet sticks made of hick- 
ory, rived one half inch by IJ inches, shaved and 
tapered at one end to receive an iron socket ; I have 
sawed sugar-tree scantlings 16|- feet long, 3 by 4 
inches thick, for the ends of the sticks to rAgt on and 



HOW TO KAISE TOBACCO. 



meet in the center of the rail, 1^ inches resting on 
it. Some use sawed lath to hang on, but the split and 
shaved are far preferable. Hanging on fence-rails with 
twine is going out of use, as it shotild. I use my barn 
to store wheat and barley, doing the threshing just 
before tobacco-hanging. My barn will hang about seven 
acres of good tobacco. 

HoGSiNG Tobacco. — The tobacco being brought to 
the barn, should be unloaded on a platform or bench 
convenient for handling. An iron socket, about 6 
inches long, f by IJ inches at the big end, taper- 
ing to a sharp point is necessary ; the sticks should be 
ehaved so as to fit the socket as near as possible, but 
do not bring the stick to a sharp point, or it will not 
lie firmly on the rail. Have a l-|-inch hole bored 
three inches deep in the barn-post, three feet from the 
ground or floor ; let the hole be bored slanting down 
a little, so that the socket end of the lath may be the 
highest ; put the end of the stick that is not tapered 
into this hole and the socket on the lath ; take hold 
of a stalk with the right hand, about one foot from 
the but end, bring it against the point of the socket, 
six inches from the but of the stalk, grasp the but 
with the left hand, and give the right hand a firm, 
quick jerk to start the stalk to split; then, with 
both hands, pull it back against the post, and so on 
nntil you have the stick full. The stalks should not 
be crowded on the sticks, four or five inches apart is close 
enough; eight or nine large stalks are enough for a four- 
foot stick. Having filled the stick, remove the socket, 
lay your stick of tobacco on the floor, and go on stick- 
ing until the load is all stuck ; or it is a good plan to 
have rails laid on the lower tie and hang for the pre- 
sent as you stick. While one or two hands are hang- 
ing one load, another may be in the field bringing in 
another. In hanging, have a single block and half- 
inch rope, with a hook at one end ; secure the block 
near where you hang, place the hook in the center of 
the stick of tobacco, and let the man on the floor draw 
it up to the one who hangs. There should be a stout pine 
board, two inches thick, fifteen inches wide, and long 
enough- to reach from tie to tie ; this should be placed 
under where you hang, to walk on. When the tobacco is 
hoisted up, take it oft" the hook, and walk to the farther 
end of the board ; have your rails placed to receive the 
stick, and so continue until your rails are full, then 
move your board and block to another place, and so con- 
tinue. A sixteen-foot rail will hang about twenty-four 
laths ; eight inches apart is about the distance to place 
the laths of tobacco on the rails ; if too much crowded 
the tobacco will house-burn. Care should bo used 
never to let a load of tobacco lie long on the wagon or 
in a pile, as it sweats and heats and is soon ruined. 
Always keep the tobacco cool. After it is housed, 
keep the doors open day and night, so that it may 
have the benefit of the warm and dry air for the pur- 
pose of curing, closing the doors against high winds 
Mid beating rains. When cured keep the doors closed. 



Stripping. — When the tobacco is sufficiently cured 
to strip, which will be after it has been well frozen 
and dried out, you will have to watch for it to get " in 
case " for handling ; when a warm, wet, misty spell of 
weather comes, throw open the doors, to allow the to- 
bacco to take the damp. When the stems of the 
leaves are so limber that they will not snap, and the 
leaves are pliable, but not too wet, take down a suffi- 
cient quantity to strip for two or three days ; take it off 
the sticks, make a temporary crib of boards about four 
feet wide, and bulk the tobacco in it, laying the tops 
in, buts out, next the boards. After you have made 
your bulk, cover with an old carpet, boards, or anj 
thing else handy, to keep it from getting too damp or 
from drying out. Care should be taken that the bulk 
does not heat ; if the stalks are wet or there is any un- 
cured tobacco, forty-eight hours is sufficient to spoil the 
tobacco. During the winter there are generally several 
tobacco seasons, and by improving them the stripping 
can all be done before March. Having the bulk down 
we now proceed to strip for market ; lay a pile of the 
tobacco on a bench or platform about two feet high, 
and let the most careful and handy man take a stalk 
in his left hand, give it a shake to make the leaves 
hang out free, then pick off four or five of the bottom 
or ground leaves, and any badly torn or diseased leaves, 
and all such as are not considered jon'me ; do not put 
any frosted or "/ai" leaves in, as it spoils the tobacco : 
pass the stalk that is primed to the stripper, and let him 
take off the prime leaves. Take off one leaf at a time, 
keeping them straight in the hand ; when a sufficient 
number are taken off to make what is called a hand of 
tobacco, take a leaf in the right hand, put the thumb 
of the left hand on the end of the leaf about one inch 
from the but of the hand or bunch, and pass the leaf 
around once or twice ; an inch is wide enough for the 
hand ; open the hand of tobacco in the center, pass 
the end of the leaf through and draw it tight, then 
squeeze the hand together and lay it down, keeping 
the leaves straight. An inch and a half in diameteria 
large enough for a hand. When a sufficient quantity 
is stripped to commence bulking, make two places to 
bulk in, one for prime and one for ground leaf; let the 
space be according to the quantity of tobacco to bulk. 
A bulk 3-J feet high and 20 feet long will hold ten boxes 
or about four thousand lbs. of prime tobacco ; the sides 
of the bulk must not be inclosed, but left open, so that 
the buts can dry out ; at each end of the bulk put a bulk- 
head of boards to build against, about three feet wide 
and four feet high ; secure this upright and firm ; do not 
build on the ground, but on a platform or floor. Com- 
mence at one end against the bulkhead, take one nand 
of tobacco at a time, straighten and smooth it, and lay 
it on the floor at one side of the bulk ; take another 
as above, press it against the first, and so proceed to 
lay the length of the bulk ; then turn and lay down Ihe 
other side of the bulk, letting the ends of the tobacco 
lap over the first row about four inches, and so repeat. 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



keeping the buts even. After one or two rounds are 
laid, get on the bulk on the knees, and as you hiy a 
hand put your knee on it, and thus puck as close and 
compact as possiljle. When not bulking down have 
boards laid on the tobacco and weights put on to keep 
the tobacco level Keep the ground leaf separate from 
the prime. 

BoxiN'G. — Boxes should be made 80 inches square 
by 42 inches in length outside ; saw the end-boards 28 
inches long, nail them to two 1;^ inch square slats 
BO that the head will be 28 inches square ; when two 
heads are made, nail the sides of the box to the heads 
90 as to come even with the outside of the head, the 
sides being 28 inches wide ; then nail the bottom on 
firmly ; the top can be nailed slightly until after the 
tobacco is packed, when it can be nailed firm. Set 
your box by the side of the bulk, and let one hand get 
in the box and another pass the tobacco to him, one 
hand at a time, taking care not to shake it out, but put 
in the box as it comes from bulk, with the but of the 
hand next the end of the box. Place close and press 



with the knee firmly ; lay alternate cour-cs at each 
end, and if the tobacco is not long enough to lap suf- 
ficiently to fill the center, put a few hands crosswise 
in the center. When the box is full, place it under a 
lever ; have a follower, which is a cover made of inch 
boards, nailed to two pieces of scantling and made to 
fit inside of the box ; lay this on the tobacco, and buiH 
with blocks of scantling on it of a sufiicient hight for 
the lever to be clear of the box when pressed. Presa 
down firmly with a strong lever, and, while kneeing in 
another box full, let the lever remain, so that the to- 
bacco gets set in the box. When ready take the lever 
off and fill up as before, about six inches higher than 
the box ; press it below the top of the box, take off 
your lever and nail on the top as quickly as possible. 
Some use tobacco-presses for packing, which are per- 
haps more convenient ; they are of various patterns, 
but a lever saves the expense of a press and is in 
the reach of all. If tobacco is sold at the shed, it 
should be sold before packing, being easier examined 
in bulk than box. 



No. II.-BY W. W. W. BOWIE, PRINCE GEORGE'S CO., MD. 



Sekd-Beds. — A rich loam is the soil for tobacco 
plants. The spot for a bed should be the south side 
of a gentle elevation, as well protected as possible by 
woods or shrubbery. After a thorough burning of 
brush, dig deep, and continue to dig, rake, and chop 
until every clod, root, and stone be removed ; then 
level and pulverize nicely with a rake. As to the 
variety to plant, I think the Cuba is a very good kind 
for our climate. The Connecticut soed-leaf is the 
best, but culture has more than any thing else to do 
with the quality. Mix one gill of seed for every ten 
square yards with a quart of plaster or sifted ashes, 
and sow it regularly in tlie same manner that garden- 
ers sow small seeds, only with a heavier hand ; roll with 
a hand-roller or tramp it with the feet. If the bed is 
sown early, it ought to be covered with brush free 
from leaves ; but it is not necessary to cover it after 
the middle of March. Tobacco-beds may be sown at 
any time during the winter if the ground be not too 
wet or frozen. The best time for sowing is from the 
10th to the 20th of March, though it is safest to sow at 
intervals, whenever the land is in fine order for work- 
ing. Never sow unless the land is in good order, for 
the work will be thrown away if the land be too moist 
or be not perfectly prepared. The beds must be kept 
free from grass or weeds, which must be picked out 
one at a time by the fingers. It is a tedious and 
troublesome operation, therefore you should be very 
careful not to use any manures on your beds which 
have grass or weed-seeds in them. After the plants 
are up, they should receive a slight top-dressing of 
manure once a week, sown broadcast by the hand. 
Ibis manure should be composed of half a busha' q1 



unleached ashes, (or one bushel of burnt turf,) one 
bushel of fresh virgin woods-earth, one gallon of plas- 
ter, half a gallon of soot, one quart of salt dissolved in 
two gallons of liquid from barnyard, and four pounda 
of pulverized sulphur, the whole well intermixed. 
Let a large quantity be got together early in the 
spring, or winter rather, and put away in barrels for 
use when wanted. This, and other such mixtures, 
have been found efficacious in arresting the ravages 
of the fly — both from the frequent dusting of tho 
plants and the increased vigor which it imparts to 
them, thereby enabling tiie plant the sooner to get out 
of the tender state in which the fly is most destructive 
to it. The fly is a small black insect, somewhat like 
the flea, and delights in cold, dry, harsh weather, but 
disappears with the mild showers and hot suns of 
opening summer. If possible, the plants should stand 
in the bed from half an inch to one inch apart, and if 
they are too thick they mustbe raked when they have 
generally become as large as five or ten-cent pieces. 
The rake proper for the purpose should be a small 
common rake, with iron teeth three inches long, curved 
at the points, teeth flat, and three eighths of an inch 
wide, and set half an inch apart. 

AFTER-CtJLTURE. — The soil best adapted to the 
growth of tobacco is light, friable soil, or what is 
commonly called a sandy loam, not too flat, but roll- 
ing, undulating land — not liable to drown in excessivo 
rains. New land is far better than old. Ashes are 
decidedly superior to any other fertilizer for tobacco. 
Theory and practice unite in sustaining this assertion. 
The land intended for tobacco should be well plowed 
in April, taking care to turn the turf completely u» 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



der, and subsoiling any portions that may be very stiff 
and liold to water near the surface ; and let tlie land be 
well harrowed directly after breaking it up. It should 
then be kept clean, light, and well pulverized by occa- 
sional working with cultivators and large harrows, so 
as not to disturb the turf beneath the surface. When 
the plants are of good size for transplanting, and the 
ground in good order for their reception, the land, or 
60 much as can be planted in a " season," should be 
"scraped," which is done by running parallel furrows, 
with a small seeding-plow, two and a half feet apart, and 
then crossing these again at right angles, preserving 
the same distance, which leaves the ground divided in 
cbecks or squares of two and a half or three feet each 
way. The hoes are then put to work and the hill is 
formed by drawing the two front angles of the square 
into the hollow or middle, and then smoothed on top 
and patted by one blow of the hoe. The furrows 
should be run shallow, for the hills should be low and 
well leveled off on the top, and, if possible, a slight 
depression near the center, so as to collect the water 
near the plant. The first fine rain thereafter, the 
plants should be removed from the seed-beds, and one 
carefully planted in each hill. A brisk man can plant 
from five to six thousand plants per day. The smaller 
or weaker hands, with baskets filled with plants, pre- 
cede the planters^ and drop the plants on the hill. In 
drawing the plants from the bed, and carrying them 
lo the ground, great care should be taken not to bruise 
or mash them. They ought to be put in baskets or 
carrels, if removed in carts, so that not many will be 
in a heap together. The plants should never be planted 
deeper than when they stood in the bed. Planting is 
done thus : Seize the plants dropped on the hill with the 
left hand ; with one finger of the right hand make 
a hole in the center of the hill, and with the left 
put in the root of the plant. The dirt is well 
closed about the roots of the plants, (put in with the 
left,) by pressing the fore-finger and thumb of the right 
hand on each side of the plant, taking care to close 
tlie earth well about the bottom of the root. If sticks 
are used to plant with, they should be short, and the 
planter should be careful not to make the hole too 
deep. The plants should be very carefully planted, 
for if the roots are put in crooked and bent up, the 
))lant may live but never flourish, and, perhaps, when 
too late to replant, it will die, and then all the labor 
will be wasted. In three or four days it may be weeded 
out, that is, the hoes are passed near the plants, and 
the hard crust formed on the hills pulled away, and 
the edges of the hill pulled down in the furrows ; this 
is easily done if performed soon after planting, but if 
delayed, and the ground gets grassy, it will then be found 
a very troublesome operation. After weeding out, 
put a giil of equal parts of plaster and ashes well 
mixed, upon each plant. In a few days, say a week or 
less time, run a small plow through it, going twice 
in a row. This is a delicate operation, and requires a 



steady horse and a skillful plowman, for without 
great care the plants will be knocked up or be killed 
by the working. In a week after, the tobacco culti- 
vator or plow must be used. Either implement ia 
valuable at this stage of the crop. But once in a row 
is often enough for either cultivator or shovel-plow 
to pass. The crop can now be made with their use 
by working the tobacco once a week for four or five 
weeks, going each time across the former working. 
Any grass growing near the root of the plants should 
be pulled out by hand. As soon as the tobacco has 
become too large to work without injuring the leaves 
by the single-tree, the hoes should pass through it, 
drawing a little earth to the plants when required and 
leveling the furrows made by the cultivator and shovel. 
Let this hoeing be well done, and the crop wants no 
more working. Care should be taken to leave the 
land as level as possible, for level culture is best. 

Topping. — When it blossoms, the best plants ought 
to be selected for seed ; one hundred plants being 
enough to save for seed to sow a crop of forty thou- 
sand pounds. All the rest should be topped before 
blossoming — indeed, as soon as the blossom bud is fairly 
formed. It should be topped down to the leaves that 
are six inches long, if early in the season, but if late, 
top still lower. If the season is favorable, in two weeks 
after a plant has been topped it will be fit for cutting, 
yet it will not suffer by standing longer in the field. 
From this stage of the crop, until it is in the house, it 
is a source of solicitude and vexation to the planter. 
He is fearful of storms, of frost, and worms, his worst 
enemy — they come in crowds, " their name Is legion " 
— and the suckers are to be pulled off when they get 
three or four inches long, they spring out abundantly 
from the bottom of the plant or leaf where it joins the 
stalk. Ground leaves are those at the bottom of the 
plant which become dry on the stalk; gather them 
eai'ly in the morning, when they will not crumljle. 

Worms. — These ought to be pulled off and killed 
as fast they appear, or they will destroy the crop. 
Turkeys are of great assistance in destroying these 
insects ; they eat them and kill thon. ^nds which they 
do not eat, for it seems to be a cherished amusement 
to them to kill worms on tobacco ; they grow passion- 
ately fond of it — they kill for the iove of killing. 
There are every year two " gluts," as they are called 
by planters ; the first attacking the plants about the 
time that they are about one third or half grown, the 
other comes on when the tobacco is ready for cutting. 
The first can be easily subdued by a good supply of 
turkeys, and if then they are effectually destroyed the 
second glut will be very easy to manage, for it is the 
opinion of many intelligent and experienced plantei-a 
that the greater portion of the first glut reiipptars the 
same year, as horn-blowers, and breed myriads. When 
the second army of worms makes its appearance, the 
tobacco is so large that the turkeys do but little good. 
The only method, then, to destroy them, is to begin 



KXPERIENCB OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



m time. Start when they are being hatched, and 
keep up a strict watch upon them, going over the whole 
field, plant by plant, and breaking the eggs, killing 
such as may be seen, and by constant attention during 
each morning and evening to this business alone, with 
the whole force of the farm, they may be prevented 
fiom doing much harm. When they disappear the 
second time, there is no more cause of trouble. 

CnxTiNG AND Housing.— When the plant begins to yel- 
low, it is time to put it away. It is cut off close to the 
ground, by turning up tlie bottom leaves and striking 
with a tobacco-knife, formed of aa old scythe — such 
knives as are often used for cutting corn. Let it lie on the 
ground for a short time to wilt, and then carry it to the 
tobacco-house, when it may be put away in three dif- 
ferent modes, by "pegging," "spearing," and "split- 
ting." Pegging tobacco is the neatest way and best, 
yet the slowest. It is done by driving pegs about six 
inches long and half an inch or less square into the stalk, 
about four inches from the big end of the stalk ; and 
these pegs are driven iu with a mallet, in a slanting 
direction, so as to hook on to the sticks in the house. 
It is then put on to a " horse," which, by a rope fixed 
to one corner, is pulled up in the house and there hung 
upon the sticks, which are regulated at proper dis- 
tances. A " tobacco-horse " is nothing more than 
three small sticks nailed together so as to form a tri- 
angle, each side being three or feet long. Spearing 
is the plan 1 pursue ; because it is neat enough and 
iecidedly the quickest plan. A rough block, with a 
liole morticed in i^, and a little fork a few inches from 
the hole for the tobacco-stick to rest upon, one end 
b'^ing in the hole and a spear on the other end of tne 
Btick, is all the apparatus required; the plant is then, 
with Ijoth hands, run over the spear and thus strung 
upon the sticks, which, when full, are taken to the house 
and hung up at once. There are "dart-spears," like 
the Indian dart, and " round spears." Either will do. 
"Splitting" tobacco is admired by many who con- 
tend that it cures brighter, quicker, and is less 
likely to house-burn or injure from too thick hanging. 
This mode is pursued easily by simply splitting, with 
a knife raade for the purpose, the plant from the top 
to within a few inches of the bottom, before it is cut 
down for housing. Care should be taken not to break 
the leaves while splitting the stalk. The knife for 
splitting may be fully described by saying it is a min- 
iature spade. It can be easily made out of an old 
scythe-blade inserted in a cleft white oak handle, with 
its edges beveled off to the blade, so that it acts like 
a wedge to the descending knife. After the tobacco 
is split, cut down, and carried to the house, it is strad- 
iled across the sticks and hung up. The sticks are 
generally supported by forks driven in to the ground 
near the heap of tobacco, for greater convenience to 
the person putting on the plants. Tobacco-sticks are 
small round sticks, or are split out like lath, and are 
kbout one inch square at one end, or one and a half 



inches square, usually larger at one end than the othei, 
and they should be about eight or ten inches longer 
than the distance between joists of the tobacco-housu 
As the tobacco cures they may be pushed up closer. 
After the house is filled, some put large fires under it, 
as soon as it has turned yellow, and by hot fires it ia 
dried at once and does not change color, unless to 
increase the brightness ; but " firing " gives it a sniok-y 
smell and taste that is not much liked by buyers. The 
cost of labor and loss of wood, and the risk of losing 
tobacco and house too, are great objections well urged 
against firing. The better plan is to have sufficient 
house-room, and hang it thin in houses not too large, 
which have windows and doors so as to admit light 
and air, and by closing them in bad weather, exclude 
the rain and dampness, which materially damage the 
tobacco, besides injuring the color of it. 

Stripping. — Afler becoming dry and well cured 
the stems of the leaves being free from sap, the first 
mild damp spell of weather it will become pliant and 
may then be stripped oflf the stalk. It is first pulled 
or taken off the sticks and put in piles, tlien the 
leaves are stripped off, tied and put in bundles of about 
one fifth or sixth of a pound in each. The bundles 
are formed by wrapping a leaf around the upper part 
of the handful of leaves for about four inches, and 
tucking the end in the middle of the bundle to confine 
it. There ought, if the quality of the crop will permit, 
to be four kinds of tobacco, " yellozv" " bright^''' ^'■dull,'" 
and " second." When the tobacco is taken down, the 
"cullers" take each plant and pull off the defective 
leaves that are next to the big end of tlie stalk, and then 
inrowthe7>/a?(<tothe next person, who strips off«ill of 
the bright leaves (and if there are any yellow leaves, he 
lays them on one side until he has got enough to make 
a bundle) and throws the plant to the next person, who 
takes off all the rest, being the "rfw/^;" and the re- 
spective strippers, as they get enough leaves in hand to 
make a bundle, throw one side for convenience' sake 
to bulk. Stripping never should be done in dry or 
harsh weather, unless the tobacco is bulked up almost 
as fast as stripped. The best plan is not to take down 
more than you can conveniently tie up in a few hours ; 
but if the planter chooses, he may take down a largo 
quantity and put it in large bulk, stalk and all, and cover 
it with tobacco-stalks, and it will keep for many days, 
so that no matter how the weather be, lie can strip out 
of the bulk. However, this is a very bad and waste- 
ful way. Tobacco should not be too moist or ^^ high," 
as it is termed, when put in stalk bulk, or it will get 
warm, the leaves stick to the stalk, get a bad smell, 
and change color ; besides, if left too long, it will rot. 

Bulking and Conditionu^g. — To bulk tobacco re- 
quires judgment and neatness. Two logs should be 
laid parallel to each other, about thirty inches apart, 
and the space between them filled with sticks for the 
purpose of keeping the tobacco from the dampness of 
the ground. The bundles are then taken one at a 



now TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



time, spread out and smoothed down, which is most 
conveniently done by putting it against the breast and 
Btrokiug the leaves downward smooth and straight 
with the right hand. It is then passed, two bundles 
at a tune, to the man bulking. He takes them and 
lays them down and presses them with his hands ; 
they are laid, two at a time, in a straight line — the 
broad part of the bundles slightly projecting over the 
next two — and two rows of bundles are put in a bulk, 
both rows carried on together, the heads being on the 
outside, and the tails just lapping one over the other 
in regular succession. The bulk, when carried up to 
a convenient hight, should have a few sticks laid 
across to keep it in place. It must often be examined, 
and if getting warm it ought to be immediately changed 
and laid down in another bulk of less hight, and not 
pressed as it is laid down ; this is called " wind-rowing ;" 
being loose and open, it admits the air between the 
rows of bundles, hence the term. The next process 
in this troublesome, but beautiful crop, is to " condi- 
tion " it for '■'■ packing. ^^ The bright, yellow, and 
second tobacco will condition, but most generally 
in such bulks as I have just described, but it is best 
to hang up the dull as soon almost as stripped. If the 
bright or second do not dry thoroughly in the bulks, 
that should also be hung up in the house to become 
well dried. To properly hang up tobacco to condition, 
smal" a'led sticks should be procured, and each one 
nicely sm )othed with the drawing-knife, and kept for 
that purpose. After it has once been perfectly dry, 
cither hanging up or in bulks — so dry that the heads 
are easily knocked off, and the shoulders of the bundles 
cracliupon pressure like pipe-stems — it should be taken 
down, or if in bulks, removed, the first soft, moist 
spell of weather, as soon as it is soft and yielding 
enough, as it will become too dry to handle without 
crumbling or breaking, and it must be put in four or 
six-row bulks of any convenient length and hight, 
the higher the better, laid down close, so that as little 
of the leaves or shoulders as possible be exposed on 



the outside of the bulk. When completed put sticks 
and logs of wood, etc., on the top so as to weigh it 
down. Here it will keep sweet and in nice order for 
packing at any time, no matter what the weather 
be, if it was conditioned properly, it will not change a 
particle while in the condition-bulk. 

Packing. — Mild, soft, pleasant weather is the best 
to pack tobacco in the hogshead. The size of the 
hogsheads is fixed by law, forty inches in the head and 
fifty-two in the length. Almost any wood will answer 
to saw into hogshead stuff; the best, of course, is that 
which is strong but weighs light, such as gum, or 
beech, or birch, or poplar. No hogshead ought to 
weigh over one hundred pound?, and staves drawn out 
of red oak, or other, which make the best, but are too 
costly, ought not to weigh over ninety pounds. 

Having got our tobacco in good order, our hogshead 
ready, etc., the first mild day that we can spare, we 
proceed to packing. Let me observe that while put- 
ting the tobacco in condition-bulks, all of the bundles 
that were soft or had an ill smell ought to have been 
laid one side to be made sweet and dry by a few hours 
in the sun. The same precaution must be observed 
while packing. In putting tobacco into the hogshead 
for packing, a man gets in with slioes off, and lays one 
bundle at a time in a circle, beginning in the middle, 
and each circle is extended until the outer circle 
reaches the staves of the hogshead ; a single row of bun- 
dles is then laid all round the edge of the heads of the 
last circle, then across the hogshead in parallels with 
the former, always keeping the middle the highest; 
this is called a course. These courses are continued 
until the hogshead is filled. The man who packs, 
presses with his knees each bundle in each course, 
and often stands upon his feet and tramps heavily, 
but cautiously all round and across, so as to get in as 
much as possible. 

This concludes the almost ceaseless round of labor 
that is necessary to prepare for market this important 
staple of our country. 



No. III.-BY CHRISTIAN SCHNEIDER, MADISON COUNTY, ILL. 

{Translated hy Ferdinand Schlueter.) 



iNTRonnCTiON. — As in other kinds of farming, the 
culture of tobacco varies in different localities, and 
every cultivator must modify the hints here given to 
suit his own particular soil and location. The princi- 
pal thing is, to understand the nature of the plant, 
that is, the necessary requirements of soil, climate, 
and culture, and the reason why all the work con- 
nected with its culture is done ; for this must be 
adapted to the end aimed at, and not only may be 
difl'erent under other circumstances, but often must 
be so. I have therefore tried to explain, why the 
work is done, and how, in my location, (Central lUi- 
Doia,) 1 have best succeeded in growing the crop. 



1. Raislno Plants from Seed. — Raising tobacco- 
plants from seed is somewhat similar to raising cab- 
bage-plants, but is different in two important things : 
It takes considerably more time for the seed to sprout, 
(six weeks,) and, on account of disturbing the roots, cat 
not well stand weeding. Therefore the principal care in 
providing the seed-bed is, to prepare for the early start- 
ing of the seed, and to have the bed free from aL 
weed-seeds. In the West we prepare the seed-bed in 
the following manner : we take a plot of land — newly 
cleared land is preferred — sloping southward, and 
protected against winds. The bed should be four 
feet broad and eight feet long ; on this we pile brusti. 



EXPERIENCE OP PEACTICAL GROWERS. 



9 



iTOod, and heavy logs, sufficient to keep up a strong 
fire for at least one hour, and burn it. When the 
coals begin to die out, or before the soil is cold, the 
bed is cleared off, and only the fine aslies are left, 
then it is hoed thoroughly and as deep as the strong- 
est heat has penetrated, after which it is raked cross 
and lengthwise, until the soil is entirely pulverized. 
Eyery thing that might hinder the growing of the 
plants, and their taking out afterwards, is carefully 
removed. On this bed a thimbleful of seed, well 
mixed with a few handfuls of ashes or earth, is sown 
broadcast, and tramped in with the feet, or slapped 
with the undiir side of the spade or any other suitable 
instrument. After this, the bed is thoroughly wetted 
with a weak manure-water, twelve pounds of hen- 
droppings, or one pound of soot in ten gallons of 
water, and lightly covered with straw. The seed- 
bed does not need much attention at first, if the 
weatlier remains mild ; but if there is danger of night- 
frosts, a layer of brush must be made, and on this a 
(ayer of straw two to four inches thick, according to 
the degree of frost. The straw is removed in the 
morning, and put on again at evening, leavmg it off 
entirely, when the nights are mild. Although the 
seed-bed is ready now, it must not be left to itself, 
and requires some care. The- plants must always have 
sufficient moisture, and if timely rains do not fall, 
they must be watered with weak liquid manure as 
often as needed. Should weeds appear, notwithstand- 
ing all precautions, they must be removed with the 
utmost care. The above-mentioned quantity of seed 
is sufficient to raise plants for one acre. 

Whoever is in possession of a hot-bed can raise 
the plants much easier ; he can sow later and have 
plants earlier and with more certainty. But even the 
common bed may be made into a kind of hot-bed. 
The burned and hoed surface-soil is removed and put 
on one side, then one foot of fresh horse-dung is laid 
on the subsoil, and the surface-soil put back again. 
Boards may be placed around, cross-pieces laid over 
tliem, and the straw covering put on these. 

Tlie. earlier the young plants are ready for trans- 
planting the surer the tobacco crop will be. March is 
the latest to make the seed-bed in the open air, and 
June the latest for transplanting. Some time may be 
gained by keeping the seed in damp earth in the 
room, and sow it in the seed-bed just before it com- 
mences to sprout. 

For seed I recommend the following varieties : 
1. Connecticut seed-leaf, principally for segar-wrap- 
pers ; 2. Cuba, for tillers and wrappers ; 3. Maryland ; 
4. Virginia, the last two principally for smoking and 
chewing tobacco. For snuif every thing may be 
useJ, the refuse and even the stems. The Connecti- 
cut, Maryland, and Virginia yield the largest crops, the 
Cuba the smallest but best. The first varieties yield 
about one thousand pounds, the latter five hundred 
pounds. In very favorable seasons double the amount 



may be raised. All tobacco-seed, which is i^moved 
from its native clime and soil, will deteriorate, and 
the seed must be renewed from its native place, al- 
though the seed may, when it finds favorable soil, 
etc., yield just as good, if not a better variety. 

To raise seed, leave the best and strongest plants for 
this purpose. The suckers otily are removed, and 
the leaves left on the plant, until the seed is ripe. 

'2. The Soil and its Prkpakation. — In a suitable 
climate tobacco may be rai.sed in every good culti- 
vated soil. But what is " suitable climate"? Which 
are the northern and southern boundaries of its cul- 
ture ? We consider only the practical side of the 
question, and answer. Tobacco can be raised as far 
North as corn, and as far South as the sugar-cane. 
Wherever corn matures fully, tobacco will also ma- 
ture, if properly cultivated. For us in the West, and 
for all the localities that have not an over-amount of 
heat, experience has proved, that a rfn/, warm soil, 
[loam or sandy loam, ) rich, deep, and containing lime, 
is most suitable for tobacco. The more sandy, to a 
certain degree, the soil is, the better will be the qual- 
ity of the tobacco ; the nearer the soil is to clay, the 
j)Oorer will be the crop under similar circumstances, 
although the yield may yet be satisfactory. Clayey 
soil will hardly produce tobacco suitable for segars. 
Wet and tough clay soils are under no circumstances 
suitable to tobacco. 

Tobacco lands require also : 1st. Protection againsS 
winds. Where this is not done by nature, it may 
be artificially done by planting several rows of pole- 
beans a few steps apart. 2d. There must be no stand- 
ing water. This is best prevented by deep plo\ring, 
by which the water will sink into the soil, whore it 
belongs. 

The land must be plowed deep, eight to twelve 
inches, and harrowed tiioroughly until it is as fine as 
good garden soil. This is best done by plowing in 
the fall, exposing the hard and rough furrows to the 
frost; after the soil is dry in spring, it should be har- 
rowed thoroughly, and then plowed and harrowed 
again for a second, and if necessary, for a third time, 
and rolled before planting. The different plowings, etc., 
should of course be done at intervals long enough to 
allow the land to settle. This is the treatment of soil 
that has been cultivated with the plow before tobacco 
is grown on it. It is somewhat different with newly 
turned (virgin) soil, or a clover-field, or a meadow, 
which the tobacco particularly hkes. Deep and thor- 
ough working is the rule here also, but it is done in 
somewhat different way. In the virgin soil, all the 
roots must be picked up, because they would make the 
soil too loose for the secure insertion of the plant, 
and tbfen they would hinder the cultivation with 
the hoe and the plow to a great degree. Meadows 
and clover-fields are broken up about three weeks be- 
fore planting, eight to ten inches deep, taking care 
that the furrow is entirely turned, so that the grass it 



10 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



brfiught to the bottom. After eight to fourteen days, 
when the soil has settled, it is thoroughly harrowed 
in the direction of the furrows, to prevent the sod 
being turned up again, which must remain below un- 
disturbed. Shortly before planting the soil is harrow- 
ed again, and if necessary it is rolled and harrowed 
once more. This time it may be done crosswise. 
This ti-eatment of meadows and clover fields has these 
advantages: the newly turned sod prevents the weeds 
from coming up, and the under-turned grass acts as a 
manure, and, if the seed-bed should fail, (which may be 
the case,) the work of breaking up the soil is not lost, 
as other crops may be raised. 

" Tobacco makes the land poory — This is ex- 
perienced wherever tobacco is grown, and not only 
individuals, but whole countries have ruined their soil 
with this crop so thoroughly, that it remained barren 
for a long time after. Whoever, therefore, cultivates 
this hungry plant for more than a mere plaything, 
must be careful that he does not exhaust his land. 
He must not only possess a naturally rich soil, but 
must have plenty of manure at his disposition, and 
must follow a system of rotation. The writer of 
this is of the opinion, that the tobacco of itself does 
not require much manure, if planted for the first time 
on otherwise gooa and rich soil, and that even animal 
manure will injure the tobacco for making segars, and 
for smoking ; but he does believe, that for the crop fol- 
lowing the tobacco, manuring can not be done too 
early, and too heavily. The manures are very difterent, 
*nd equally useful for the different kinds of tobacco. 
V'^e may classify them as follows : 

To be applied shortly before planting, and in equal 
quantities, for all kinds of tobacco : \. Guano, 200 to 
SCO pounds on the acre ; 2. Poultry-droppings, 400 to 
500 pounds ; 3. Green manure in any quantity ; 
4. Sheep-dung, 6 two-horse loads ; 5. Cattle manure, 
10 two-horse loads. 

For chewing-tobacco and snuff: 1. Sheep-dung, 10 
tc 12 loads per acre ; 2. Cattle manure, 20 to 30 loads ; 
3. Horse-dung, 15 to 25 loads; 4. Hog manure, 20 
to 30 loads. The last two are useless for smoking to- 
bacco, or for that to be used for segars. 

The first three manures (guano, poultry-droppings, 
and green manure) must be followed after the tobacco- 
crop, by a plentiful supply of stable-manure. The 
tobacco-stalks themselves, rotted or burned to ashes, 
sown over the field before the transplanting, or in the 
planting-furrows, will act as a good manure, but are not 
sufficient. In highly-worked farms, that is, where the 
soil is valuable, and can not remain idle, it will pay 
ttcry way, to sow rye for fodder on the tobacco-land 
in the fall ; this may be made into hay, or turned 
under as manure at the licginning of July, just as may 
Beem most profitable. Deep plowing for the rye, and 
afterward for the tobacco, must not be forgotten. 

As a rotation for tobacco, I would recommend : first 
year, corn, potatoes, cabbage, or any hoed crop ; 



second year, spr'ng barley, with clover ; third yeai, 
clover; fourth year, the clover plowed under at ihe 
beginning of June, and tobacco ; fifth year, wheat. 
Nos. 1 and 4 to be manured. Or, if the richness of the 
clover is intended for wheat, which also pays well for 
this extra care, and if green rye is to be plowed 
under for tobacco ; first and second year, as above ; 
third, clover ; the third growth plowed under, and 
wheat harrowed in ; fourth, wheat ; in the fall the 
field is plowed, and rye sown ; fifth, green rye plowed 
under, and tobacco. Nos. 1 and 5 to be manured. 

Or, if more wheat is desired, first, second, third, 
fourth and fifth years as above, and wheat the sixth 
year. Nos. 1 and 5, and if any way possible. No. 6 to 
be manured. I consider the last rotation the best. It 
will give, in six years, three straw-crops, which are much 
needed for manure. The grain-crop of barley and wheat 
is sure, and it don't happen as in the second, that a hoed 
crop follows the tobacco, which is also a hoed crop. 
Tobacco is planted on the same field again in seven 
years, an interval long enough not to ruin the soil. 
The benefit for tobacco in this rotation, consists iu 
the lasting qualities of the green clover and rye, 
plowed under. 

3. Transplanting. — As soon as the seedlings are 
of the size of cabbage-plants, that is, liaving four 
leaves, and being four to six inches high, they are 
ready for transplanting. The first thing is, to lay out 
the land in planting-rows with the one-horse plow, as 
for corn, and from north to south, if a steep slope 
does not make another Way necessary. These rows 
are either furrows or ridges, according to whether 
there is little or much rain expected, or as the soil is 
porous or not. The furrows give the plants shadow, 
and protect the soil from drought by the sun or winds ; 
the ridges allow all the sun; and protect from damp- 
ness. In this respect the planter must be governed by 
experience. Ridges and furrows may be omitted, 
especially in small plantations. A strong cord is 
stretched over the whole width of the field, by stakes 
at each side, and one in the middle ; along this cord 
the plants are inserted at regular distances, which are 
shown by some mark on the cord. When one row is 
planted, the cord is removed to the nest, and the 
planting done in the same manner, and so on, until 
the field is done. This method has the advantage, 
that the soil may be made fine with the hoe shortly 
before the inserting of the plant, if it has not been 
done sufiiciently with horse-labor. However the rows 
may be made, they must be equally far apart, and so 
with the plants in the rows. The distance of the rowa 
and of the plants depends upon the room which the 
plant occupies when fully grown, and is therefore dif- 
ferent with the several varieties of tobacco. Cuba is 
satisfied with the smallest space, while the other 
Tarieties need more. The distance apart also depends 
somewhat upon the richness of the soil, for very rich 
soil will grow larger leaTes than poor soil ; and then 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAl- GROWERS. 



11 



It must be considered whether the after-cultivation is 
to be done entirely by human labor, or partly by horse- 
power. The farthest distance for Maryland, Virginia, 
and Connecticut, is with the rows four feet, and the 
plants three feet in the row ; for Cuba, the rows three 
feet, and the plants two feet. lu Central Illinois, we 
do best by making the rows three and a half feet, and 
the plants three feet apart in the rows for the first 
three varieties — so we get seven thousand Cuba, and 
four thousand two hundred plants of the other kinds, 
on the acre. 

It is handy in large plantations, and even necessary, 
when the work is to be done with horsepower, to 
have a wagon-road around the field and through the 
center, this makes tlie work at harvest-time much 
easier. 

When the rovfs are made and the plants are large 
enough, then the planter must watch for a mild rain 
and one or two cloudy days. If the weather is fiivor- 
able, he must lose no time, but go to work with all 
the hands at his disposal. Notwithstanding the hurry, 
every thing must be done methodically and in proper 
order ; for all carelessness in transplanting tobacco is 
severely punished by the necessity of renewing plants 
that don't grow, and up to its maturity the same care 
must be observed, even in selling the yield. The 
seed-bed is thoroughly wetted, so that tlie roots will 
not be hurt while pulling up the plants, and the earth 
not disturbed around remaining ones. The largest 
plaaits are taken out at first, and only as many as can 
be planted in half a day. As soon as taken up they 
are tied in bundles of one hundred, laid in a basket 
and covered. They are inserted, not deeper than they 
stood in the bed, in a hole, made with the fingers or 
with a trowel, and the soil then squeezed around the 
plant again. This work is continued the whole day, in 
cloudy weather, until completed. But if there is no 
rain and no cloudy days, and the transplanting can not 
be postponed any longer, then the grower must water 
the plants at transplanting, and cover them immedi- 
ately after. This requires the additional help of three 
workmen, namely, one who waters, one that puts dry 
earth around the watered plant, so that no lumjis will 
form there, and the third to cover the plants. Trans- 
planting under these circumstances can only be done 
mornings and evenings, and should even be done only 
towards evening. If the weather has been cloudy at 
the time of transplanting, and hot weather sets in the 
next or the second day, then also the plants must be cov- 
ered. Covering is done with light, dry leaves or straw. 
After the transplanting is done, care must always be 
taken that the plants, until they are rooted, are not 
gufifcring fiom moisture, and it may be necessary that 
they be watered a second time. Dead or weak plants 
must be removed and replaced by healthy ones. 

4. Work until Hauvesting. — This work is done 
partly for the benefit of the soil and for that of the 
plants themselves. The working of the soil is for 



keeping it open to the influences of tlie atmosphere 
and to destroy the weeds, and will forward the growth 
of the plant, for experience has proved that only soil 
that is open and free of weeds will secure the full de- 
velopment of the plants. Loosening and stirring the 
soil from time to time is therefore not only beneficial, 
but necessary, especially when the soil is hardened by 
heavy rains, or a crust has formed through other influ- 
ences, or when weeds appear. For the first loosening, 
which should be done shortly after the plants have 
rooted, a furrow-harrow, a one-horse harrow with teeth 
slanting forward and the cross-beams so arranged that 
they can be set two to three and a half feet apart, is 
the best implement ; for the second and third, the cul- 
tivator, or if the soil gets hardened below the surface, 
or when many weeds are in their way, the common 
corn-plow should be used. This is the working be- 
tween the rows. In the rows between the plants, 
where the working is even more important, it must be 
done with the hand-hoe. Care must always be taken 
not to damage the roots, and at the second and espe- 
cially at the third hoeing, the soil must be drawn to- 
ward the plants, partly to protect them against storms 
and give them a stronger hold, and partly to absorb 
excessive moisture. 

The soil must never be worked while wet. Where 
help is plenty, it is better to dispense with all horse- 
woi-k ; the plants can be put closer together, a larger 
crop is gained, less damage is done to the plants, 
and in closing up the account the cultivator, witli hu 
man labor, will not be the loser. The working of the 
soil, it will be seen, is not what makes the tobacco 
culture so laborious and expensive. It is the care of 
the plants^ of which I shall now speak. 

From the first starting of the tobacco plant, it has its 
enemies. First appears a cut-worm that works in the 
soil and eats the roots off". Then comes a little cater- 
pillar which enjoys itself on the young leaves, and 
lastly the beautiful and large tobacco-worm, which eats 
into the leaf, and in a short time leaves nothing but 
the leaf-stems and stalk. The only remedies against 
these enemies are the vigilance and industry of the 
planter — looking after them, digging up, picking, and 
destroying once or twice a day, or often as there are 
any traces of them. Children, to whom premiums are 
offered, will be very successful in destroying them. 
(Premiums are a very good thing all over, and are the 
reason why this treatise is written.) A herd of turkeys, 
if given access to the tobacco-field, are a very valuable 
help. A negro from South-Carolina told me a few 
days ago, that a solution of blue vitriol in water, 
sprinkled over the plants, will kill the worms. The 
remedy may be worth trying. Of course the solution 
must be made weak enough, so that it will not destroy 
the plants as well as the worms. 

Priming. — The object of priming is to break off the 
leaves that come out too near the ground, which when 
large lie flat on it, and therefore rot or get dirty. 



12 



now TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



This work should be done early, the sooner the better, 
so that the plant does not lose much strength by their 
growing. These leaves must not he torn oflf, especially 
not downward, becatise the plant would be injured, 
and instead of throwing the strength gained into the 
other leaves, it would be thrown away to heal the 
wound. The distance from the ground this priming 
should be done, depends upon the variety grown and 
upon the time at which the work is done : four to six 
inches is the right distance. This priming is not done 
by every one. One farmer may practice it, while his 
neighbor does not ; but sorts the lower leaves separ- 
ately, and sells them as so-called " lugs," for which he 
gets a little over half the price of the good upper 
leaves. Those who do not prime, must generally top 
lower, or they must risk that the whole plant, or at 
least the upper leaves, will not mature fully. 

Topping is done to throw the strength, which would 
go to develop seeds, into the leaves. It must, there- 
fore, be done as early as the seed-buds sliow them- 
selves, if not earlier. This work must be done, and 
the question is, how to do it. If there are but few 
leaves on the plant, even'these will not ripen, if it is 
not topped ; if there are many, then the grower has 
the choice either to break off the flower-stalk only or 
to take off one or more leaves also. This should be 
done in answer to the questions : 1st. Is there time 
enough to ripen even the upper leaves fully ? and, '2d, 
Are the plant and the soil strong enough to ripen all 
leaves, even the upper ones? The answers to these 
queries will decide the way of topping. If yes, he 
takes off the flower-stalk only ; if no, he tops to eight, 
ten, twelve, fourteen, or sixteen leaves, according to 
his judgment, that is, he allows so many leaves to re- 
main on the plant. Here will be seen the importance 
and benefit of starting the plants early from seed. 
This alone may increase the yield one half. 

SucKKRiNG follows shortlv after topping, and is done 
for the same reason — to concentrate the strength of 
the plant in the leaves. A sucker is a little branch 
appe^iriiig at the place where the stem of the tobacco- 
leaf joins the stalk. They draw off nutriment, while 
they will never be good for any thing, and therefore 
must be removed. This is one of the tiresome opera- 
tions in tobacco culture, for these suckers do not all 
appear at the same time ; they first appear on the 
lower leaves, and then on the middle, and lastly at 
the top leaves. They even push out again sometimes 
after they have been removed. They demand the 
planter's whole attention, and he has no rest on ac- 
count of them, until the plant is fully matured. 

Priming, topping, and suckering must not be done 
during a rain, or when the dew is on the plants, or 
they will get rust-spots, which will get larger every 
day and at last destroy the whole leaf. 

Harvksting. — The maturity of tobacco is seen, if 
the leaves, which were greet, up to now, when held 
against the sun, show yellowish, reddish, or brownish 



spots, feel sticky, and when bent break off sliori and 
clean. Before this period sets in, the dri/hig-k'nist 
should be in good order. This house is built to give 
room for the free hanging up of the tobacco, so that 
it is protected from the sun, wind, and rain, and ia 
allowed to dry by the free circulation of the air. Any 
building, therefore, will answer which has a good roof, 
boarded sides, and enough windows and air-holes (whicli 
can be closed at will) to keep up a mild circulation of 
air inside, and also to keep out strong and too quick 
drying winds. If the tobacco is grown on a large 
scale, the house should have large doorways to drive a 
wagon in and out. There must be sticks all over the 
house, either cross or lengthwise, and these slicks must 
be ready and in their places. Now the work of liarvest- 
ing the crop is commenced on a clear or cloudy but 
not rainy day. The mature plants (those not ripe are 
left longer on the field if not too late in the season) 
are cut off near the ground, two of them tied together 
by the but ends and hung up in the field on riders, 
which rest on two forks fastened in the ground, and 
they are left there until evening to wilt ; then they are 
brought to the drying-house and hung up. The to- 
bacco is hung up on the upper sticks first, and the 
work continued downward ; care is taken that the 
sticks are six to eight inches apart, also that the plants 
are not too near together on the sticks, because the 
air should have free passage among the plants, and 
when they touch or rub against each other, unsightly 
spots are produced. The sticks must be pretty wide, 
so that the two plants which are tied together, and 
one of which hangs on each side, are held well apart. 
Later, when the tobacco has dried off somewhat, the 
sticks and plants may be moved a little nearer to each 
other ; but the plants on the upper sticks must not 
touch those on the lower; they should be so arranged 
that one lower stick is just in the middle of the space 
between two upper ones. 

Another method of harvesting may be followed by 
those who cultivate tobacco on a small scale, or who 
have hands and time enough. As all the leaves on the 
plant do not ripen at the same time, but the under 
leaves are always a little earlier than the upper ones, 
they may gather the crop in the leaf, that is, taking 
only the matured leaves from the stalk ; this must be 
done daily, and so long as there are leaves on the 
stalk. In this way the crop will be harvested slower, 
and it will cost more, but the tobacco will be of more 
even quality and better. The leaves are strung on 
strings instead of being hung up on sticks, with tha 
same care and precautions as recommended for hang- 
ing up the whole plants. After the leaves are off, the 
stalks must be cut off or pulled up, for they would still 
vegetate, and needlessly take away nourishment from 
the soil. 

No more tobacco, leaves or plants should be cut 
than can be taken to the drying-house and hung up 
the same day. Mild, clear weather will be beneficial 



EXPERIEJfCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



18 



for drying; strong and rough winds will do it too 
quick, and wet, damp weather will hinder it altogether. 
Should the latter continue for some time, the place of 
the sticks or strings must be changed, and if, notwith- 
standing this, the tobacco gets mouldy, it must be 
" fired." A fire is built in one or more excavations in 
the ground of the house, and the heat and smoke are 
allowed to go as evenly as possible through the plants. 
Care must be taken that the fire does not get too near 
the tobacco, so that it gets singed or burned. The 
place directly above the tire should, therefore, be free 
of tobacco. Stoves, with pipes to convey the smoke 
(which is of no value in drying) outside of the house 
are still better. The heat in the house may be kept 
up to eighty or ninety degrees. 

The best arrangements for drying will not be of 
much avail unless the tobacco has been fully matured 
before harvesting, for if this has not been the case, it 
will never lose the well-known " green taste," and no 
after manipulation, no drying or sweating, will free it. 

Curing. — When the leaves are dry, which is seen 
when the stems become of a brown color, and break 
when bent, the next work is to make tobacco out of 
them, for up to now we have nothing but a tasteless 
dry weed. Its hidden qualities must be developed. 
This is done by a process of fermentation, the sweating 
of the tobacco. 

The leaves are broken one by one from the stalks, 
in damp weather, (otherwise they would break,) 
itt-etched out nice and even, and, with the ends in the 
iame direction, put up in heaps. These heaps, of 
which every workman makes one, are afterwards put 
into one or more large conical heaps, from four to six 
feet in diameter at the base and from one and a half 
to two feet at the top. These are covered with wool- 
len blankets, straw mats, or any thing that will press 
the heap lightly, and shut out the air. In twenty-four 
to thirty hours a fermentation sets in, the heap gets 
warm, and when it is so hot inside that the hand can 
not bear it very well, the heap is broken up and packed 



over a^ain, pulling the tobacco that hud been outside 
upon the inside, and vice versa, and treating the same 
way as at first. In such heaps the tobacco remains 
twenty to forty days, until all the heat is gone ; then 
the heaps are again broken up in damp weather, the 
leaves tied up in bundles of one h.alf to one pound ia 
weight, stretched even and packed in boxes or ho^ 
heads, pressed tightly and covered. Now the tobacco 
is done — is a salable article. 

The process of sweating must be conducted with 
every possible care, for on this depends the color of 
the tobacco, and in a large degree its fine flavor. If 
the fermentation is too strong, the tobacco gets black 
and the flavor is driven out; if too little fermented, 
the color remains green and whitish yellow, and tho 
flavor is not developed. 

Those who raise the plant principally ^o get wrap- 
pers for segars will need to sort it. 

Sorting is done right after the last breaking up of 
the heaps, and consists in laying the damaged leaves 
apart from the whole ones ; and these again are sepa- 
rated, according to color or other qualities, for wrap- 
pers, into two, three, or four different kinds, so that 
every variety is of the same quality and color. 

First quality — Color, dark brown; even over the 
whole leaf. 

Second quality — Color, light brown ; even. 

Third quality — Color, dark yellow ; even. 

Fourth quality — Color, light yellow ; even. 

Fifth quality — Color, green, black, whitish yellow, 
spotted. 

The first four kinds include the larger leaves, while 
the smaller ones go into the fifth auality. 

Every kind is bundled by itself. This work is not 
difficult, and increases the price considerably. The 
first three sorts, and even the fourth, may be sold as 
wrappers, which bring the highest price. The fifth ia 
mixed with the damaged leaves together, and sold for 
fillers or chewing tobacco and snuff. 



No. IV.-BY WILLIAM H. WHITE, HARTFORD COUNTY, CONN. 



In the following essay I shall endeavor to give some 
plain and practical directions for the culture of tobacco, 
derived from actual experience, and from observation 
of the experience of the most successful producers in 
the valley of the Connecticut River, where the crop is 
produced in as gi-eat, if not a greater degree of perfec- 
tion than in any other section of our extended coun- 
try ; and as generally cultivated as any crop raised. 
Nearly every man who has an acre or more of ground, 
raises from one fourth an acre to five, six, or more 
acres. In the first place, it will be necessary to decide 
upon the best kind to raise. The Connecticut seed- 
leaf is the best kind, and is sought for more generally 
by manufacturers, speculators, and dealers generally, 
Uiau any other sort produced in the above States ; 



also brings a better price, the latter being the one 
object in raising tobacco. I take it for granted, you 
will look no farther, but will procure a suitable quan- 
tity of pure seed from some reliable source. It can 
be had from the seedsmen generally, or, better, of some 
acquaintance in this section. 

Sekd-Bep. — Having decided upon the kind, and 
procured your seed, we will next proceed to select 
a good spot, and prepare the seed-bed. It ia 
best to have it in some rich, warm, and sheltered 
soil, where the bleak north and north-western winds 
will be broken oft', either by buildings or by tight board- 
fences, where the soil is a rich sandy loam, neither 
very wet nor dry, as in either case the plara will be 
likely to fail partially or wholly. A spot where cabbage 



14 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



or leltnce-])laTits will thrive well, will usually produce 
good tobacco-plants. Having selected a suitable loca- 
tion, next consider lii)w large a bed you will need. That 
depends on the surface you intend to plant out. A 
bed two rods long, by twelve feet wide, will produce 
a sufficient number of good plants to set an acre. On 
such a bed you should spread a heavy coat of good, 
fine, well-rotted manure, at least two inches thick ; 
let it be free from straw or other litter. Then, with a 
good strong back, and long-handled spade, (or other as 
you prefer,) spade up the bed, mi.\ing in the manure 
very fine. Have ready some fine dry brush, or the 
like, and spread over the whole surface ; set it on fire 
and burn to ashes. A small quantity will answer bet- 
tor than a very la-ge one, for if very much is burned, 
it is apt to do injury by burning the soil. The less 
quantity will tend to destroy any foreign seed turned 
up, and warm the ground. Having reduced the brush 
to ashes, take a fine iron or steel rake, and proceed to 
pulverize very finely the whole surface spaded up. 
After reducing it to as fine a state as possible, and 
having made it flat and level, leave it till the next day. 
Then, with your rake, carefully rake over the whole 
bed ; it is now ready for the seed. Sow the seed on 
broadcast ; be careful to sow it even and true. About 
two thiniblefuls, or a little less, will be sufficient for 
Buch a bed. It is better to have too little than too 
much, as in the first instance, the plants will have 
room to form thick stalky roots and well-spread leaves, 
while in the latter they will be crowded with spindling 
tops as well as small roots. Having sowed your seed, 
take a good heavy garden-roller and roll the surface 
down hard and smooth. In the absence of a roll, a 
very good substitute can be made by taking a piece 
of two-inch plank, say eighteen inches long by four- 
teen inches wide ; in the center, place an upright 
handle. With this spat the bed over, being careful to 
do it evenly, and to leave the surface solid and level, 
the reasons for which you will afterward discover in 
weeding and taking out plants to set in the field. This 
should be done in the spring, as soon as the ground 
will permit, say first of April, if the frost is out and 
the ground settled. The roll or spatter will cover the 
seed sufficiently without any other covering. To be 
able to sow the seed with the least trouble, mix it in 
thoroughly with wood-ashes or plaster, before sowing. 
To obtain plants earlier, you can mix your seed 
thoroughly in about a quart of light chip dirt from 
under your wood-shed ; put it in some proper vessel, 
and wet to the consistence of soft putty, with water as 
warm as can be well borne by the hand. Set it on the 
mantle-shelf in the kitchen, not too near the stove or 
fire, but where it will keep warm. In the course of a 
week or ten days, the seed will have cracked the shell, 
and will show the small white germ or sprout. It 
should now be sowed broadcast very evenly, and treat 
as before described. If proper"? wet at first, it will 
need no more water to sprout tue seed. Before sow- 



ing, pulverize the mass containing the ?eed, to feftUI- 
tate the sowing. Having thus sown and rolled down 
your bed very nicely, it is well to have something to 
protect it from the encroachment of the fowls. For this 
purpose, spread a net of twine or a few brush over the 
surface, covering it so that they may not disturb the 
surface by scratching and wallowing. It may now be 
left till the weeds begin to make their appearance; 
these you will need to extract by the roots as soon as 
the plants can be distinguislied ; these last may bo 
known by two very small nearly round leaves opening 
over flat on the ground. Now procure a plank or 
some substitute a little longer than j'our bed is wide, 
also two blocks five or six inches square, as long or 
longer than your plank is wide ; place one on one 
side of the bed, the other on the opposite side ; on 
these two blocks, place your plank, and you will have 
a fitie platform on which you can sit and weed any 
part, or all, of your bed, by moving it as occasion may 
require. To assist in pulling out the weeds, procure a 
moderately sharp-pointed knife, and with the same 
grasped in the hand with the thumb near tlie point, 
pinch out the weeds, being careful not to disturb the 
dirt aiiy more than absolutely necessary. The process 
of weeding must be repeated as often a^ necessary, to 
keep the bed clean from weeds. The next step is pre- 
paring your field. 

Soil. — Select a patch of good loamy soil — almost 
ai^y such as will grow a good crop of corn will 
answer — that which has been broken up and tilled 
at least one season, is the best. On such a piece 
there will be needed at least twenty - five loads 
(sixty-four feet to the load) of good stable or yard 
manure to the acre. Cart this on, making five heaps 
to the load, putting them equidistant all over the 
field. Having finished carting on the manure, about 
the first of May, or sooner, if the ground is free from 
frost, and settled, commence to spread the manure 
evenly all over the ground, and with a good team and 
plow, turn it under, letting the plow run at least seven 
inches deep. Having done this thorotighly, let it re- 
main for the present, and in the mean time you may 
plant your corn and do other necessary farm-work. 
As the weeds begin to start up a little, take your team 
and drag them down over the field, thus at once 
checking their growth and pulverizing the ground ; 
repeat the harrowing, if necessary, before the second 
plowing. The last of May, or first of June, depend- 
ing on the state of forwardness of your plants in the 
bed, plow your ground again, and not quite as deep as 
at first ; let it lie a day or two ; then harrow it thor- 
oughly, going two or three times over it. If your 
land is in pretty good heart, no further manure will 
be necessary ; but unless it is so, I would manure in 
the drill with fine, well-rotted manure or compost. 
Having completed the harrowing, you may commence 
to fit the hills, (and here I would say, by hills I do 
not mean those little moimds that will dry up anfl 



EXPERIENCE ' OF PRACnCAL GROWERS. 



15 



slied all the rain, but simply with the hand-hoe to 
strike the- edge into the ground a little, three or four 
times ;) tlien spat the hill, leaving the ground around 
level with the spat a little depressed. Put the hills 
two feet apart, and the rows three feet between. Be- 
gin on one side of the field, and to make the rows 
straight, set guides iu the middle and end of same. It 
will pay you to take extra pains to make the rows 
straight, in looks and convenience, in going among it 
with the cultivator. Ilaving made one row of hills, it 
will be easy to make the rest so by it. If necessary 
to put on more manure, with a small one-horse plow, 
turn a shallow furrow for the rows, observing to make 
them three feet apart, and straight, as above. Into 
such furrows strew from five to six loads of very fine 
manure or compost. It is better to strew it through- 
out the whole length than to put it in hills, as the 
crop will get the benefit without the danger of the 
hills drying up. With the hoe, haul in the dirt and 
fill the furrow level, covering the whole of the manure, 
and make the hills by spatting with the hoe as you go, 
observing to make them at regular distance. It is 
better, when convenient, to have the rows run north 
and south, that the sun may more readily shine on the 
ground to warm it, etc. 

Pl.vnting Out. — Ilaving thus fitted your ground, 
it will be necessary to improve the first opportunity 
for transplanting after your plants attain a suit- 
able size, which will be when the leaves attain the 
breadth of two inches. This is best done in wet or 
rainy weather, but can be done at any time as describ- 
ed below. It having rained sufficiently to wet the 
ground down an inch or so, proceed in the following 
manner to remove the plants from the bed : take a 
comnion two-tined dinner-fork, or a stick sharpened to 
a point at one end ; run this down by the side of suita- 
ble-sized plants, and loosen them by prying under 
them. With the other hand take them by the leaves 
and gently lift them out of the ground and place them 
in a basket provided for the purpose ; proceed thus, 
and tcaove such a quantity as you may desire. Then 
with a good boy to drop them, proceed tc the field. 
Such a boy will drop out as fast as two car set. Let 
him drop one plant on each hill, occasionally two 
email ones, to fill in where missing at some future 
time. To set them properly, take the plant by the 
leaves near the roots in the left hand, and with the 
two front fingers of the right, make a hole in the cen- 
ter of the hill by running them down straight ; with- 
draw the fingers, and place the roots of the plant held 
in the other hand in the hole ; with the aforesaid two 
fingers, push the dirt up to the side of the roots, and 
finish off" by pressing the dirt in and down around the 
plant, which, if properly done, the plant can not be 
pulled up by a single leaf. Proceed in like manner 
with the whole. If your plants should be sufficiently 
grown, and uo wet weather occurs, take a wateiing- 



pot and give the plant-bed a good soaking ; then, aa 
before described, take up your plants, being careful 
not to disturb the roots of those remaining ; after 
which give the bed another good sprinkling. Set 
your plants as described before, and immeJiateiv 
water them well. Set them before you wet the 
ground, for it is done better ; the water will then .set- 
tle the dirt around, and stick them well. Tills should 
be done in the after-part of the day ; the next morii- 
ing water them again thoroughly. If properly done, 
nine in ten, if not the whole, will live. If vou are 
afraid the sun will burn them, you can cover them up 
with a little short grass, or burdock, or other leaves. 
The writer has seen them set as described, and not 
covered at all, and they have lived and done as well 
as those set at any other proper time. 

Cut-Worms.' — The next, or at farthest, the sec- 
ond morning after having set your plants go over 
to see that the worms do not eat up one half of 
them. You can tell where they are and have 
i)een, by seeing a plant with a single leaf, and 
sometimes the whole plant eaten off" and drawn down 
into the hole occupied by a large brown or black 
worm ; you will see little ant-hills like, and round 
Ivoles in the ground ; by poking around a little iu the 
dirt, you will find a worm very near the mouth of 
these little holes. Destroy it, and all you can fird, 
and thus save your crop. This searching for w.^rras 
mu.st be kept up till they cease to do mischict. All 
plants missing in the field should be renewed from the 
bed at the first opportunity. The morning is the best 
time to find the worms, as they are near the surface 
of the ground ; later, they retire into the ground to 
appear again near sundown, and work during the 
night and early morning. 

Cultivation. — Having got your plants all set, 
the next in order is, in a few days to hoe out the 
same. Take a cultivator narrowed up, and with a boy 
to guide the horse, go through ; once to a row is suf- 
ficient for the first hoeing. Then with a commosi 
hand-hoe cut up all weeds and grass, brush the dirt 
down level around the plant; stir it but very slightly 
close to the plant ; leave the stirring and hauling dirt 
up to the plants to a future dressing. Go over the 
whole in like manner ; then again in ten days or a 
fortnight, keeping the worms off in the mean time. 
With your cultivator, go twice to a row. This time 
you can stir the dirt pretty freely around the plants, 
and renew it, being careful not to leave any leaves 
covered up, or partially so, as it will spoil them. 
As the leaves are what tobacco is grown for, be sure 
in all the different processes you go through with, 
to save them from any thing that will injure them. 
Should any plant have its center bud broken or eaten 
off, it will come up with several suckers or sprouts, 
and will not amount to much ; better replace such, if 
n't too late. It is better to do the rest ^ the hoeing 



16 



HOW TO SAISE TOBACCO. 



without the use of tlie cultivator ; stir the ground and 
keep it free from weeds by going through as often as 
necessary with the hoe. 

Worms. — The tobacco having got up from ten to 
twelve inches high, look out for the green worm 
which cats the leaves. They are often found 
earlier. You will see a small round hole oftentimes 
uo larger than a large pin-hole in the leaf; if you turn 
it up you will be very apt to discover on the under 
side a small worm uo larger round than a common 
thread needle, and half an inch in length. Kill him, 
and all his kind, for if left, he will grow to the size 
and length of your finger, and would not make much 
of a breakfast ofi' a third of a full-grown leaf; keep 
the growing plants free from all such by going 
through the field often, and picking them off. Well- 
trained turkeys will oftentimes assist in destroying 
them. All other fowls should be kept off, as they 
often do more damage than good by scratching, and 
othei'wise injuring the leaves. 

Topping and Suckering. — The plants having 
grown to the hight of two feet, will begin to run up 
to blossom ; let them get up pretty generally even ; 
then go through and break off the stems about two 
and a half feet from the ground ; have the whole even 
on top. A few plants will not be quite ready to top ; 
let such remain, and in a few days go over the field 
and top those left. This will be about the middle or 
twentieth of August. If any plants are later, they 
should be topped before the first of September, that 
they may have a few days for their leaves to fill out 
and ripen. Leave three or four of your earliest and 
Dest plants to go up to seed without topping. The 
Buckers will now begin to grow, at first near the top, 
and then farther down ; these should be broken off as 
they make their appearance, that the whole growth 
may go into the leaves. Also, if any branches come 
out on your plants left for seed, break them off, and 
only leave those close to the top ; look out at all times 
for the green worm, for they will work as long as the 
crop stands, and frequently, if not shaken off, after it 
is hmig in the shed, as long as it remains green. 

Harvesting. — In the course of two or three weeks 
after topping, the plants will begin to ripen, which may 
be known by the change in color of the leaf. It will 
look spotted with spots of lighter green, a yellowish 
gretm. When fully ripe the leaf may be folded togeth- 
er, and moderately pressed without breaking or crack- 
ing. Now is the time to begin to harvest it. All this is 
supposed to take place before there is any appearance 
of frost, as a very light frost often does great damage. 
All touched by it is ruined, and good for nothing. The 
crop must be cut and hung, even if not fully ripe, be- 
fore any frosts occur. If there are strong appearances 
of a frost you can secure the crop by cutting it down, 
and putting it either under your .sheds, or by putting 
it in piles, not over a foot deep, in the field, and cov- 
ering with straw. It is well to let it stand, if not fully 



ripe, as long as it can safely, for the cool nights hart 
a tendency to thicken up the leaves. The cutting ia 
best performed with a hay-knife, with a sharp, round- 
ing point, in the following way : stand at the right- 
hand side of the plant or row; with the left hand 
grasp the stalk down two or three leaves from the top 
and lean it back on the row ; now, with the point of 
your cutter held in the right hand two or three inched 
from the stalk, close to the root under the bottom 
leaf, with a sudden stroke or dab, sever the same 
from the root ; lay it gently down back in a line with 
the row. Proceed in like manner to cut what you can 
take care of, and not get injured by sunburn. Have 
two rows of buts together, lying tiie same way for 
after-convenience. This cutting is done after the dew 
is off in the morning, or in the afternoon. Let it re- 
main until the top side is somewhat wilted ; then com- 
mence to turn it over. Step between the two rowa 
with the buts lying toward you, and with each hand 
take a plant on either side ; raise them from the 
ground, and by twisting the hands in or out, turn the 
plants, laying them either to the right or left, 
as most convenient, at right angles to their former 
position. Go through with the two rows, and you 
have the next two with the buts the other way ; take 
these and lay the tips directly opposite those first 
turned, and you have an alley, with the buts of the 
plants of two rows on either side, which will be con- 
venient to drive in to load. When wilted sufficient 
to be handled without breaking, if in 'J e forenoon, 
you can load it from the rows as they lie ; if in the 
afternoon, it is best to put in hakes, which is done by 
putting five plants at the bottom, and on these four, 
decreasing one on each layer, and terminating with 
one on the top; this will protect it from dew and wet. 
The best cart for hauling the tobacco is a one-horse 
wagon, geared long, with merely a platform resting on 
the axles. Such a cart can be driven between the 
rows and loaded from either side, having the buts of 
the plants uniformly one way, and laid crosswise on 
the platform. Great care should be used, in all the 
handling, not to bruise, break, or tear the leaves. 
Having cut all, excepting your seed-plants, strip all 
the leaves from these, and set a stake to each to tie it 
up to ; let the stake be a foot taller than the plant; 
it will answer to keep a piece of old carpet from break- 
ing down the stalk when you wish to cover it up on 
cold nights. Let the seed-plants stand till the pods 
or bolls are cured to a brown, and the seed is ripe ; 
then cut off the top of the seed-stalk, and hang it up 
in some dry and safe place, where it will be ready to 
shell and use the next season ; only the ripest and 
best pods should be used. 

Buildings. — We will next consider what build- 
ings are necessary, and how arranged; you will not 
have time to build now — therefore, will have to 
use such as you have ; your stables, sheds, and 
barn-floors can be arranged so as to hang up an acre 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



n 



or two, l>y setting stanchions witli holes mortised in 
them to hold rests for your poles about four and a half 
feet apart. Set sucli ones on either side with a very 
stout rail, one end in either post. Set these as often 
a.s you may need them, depending on the length of 
your poles. No poles should be so long as to sag very 
much when filled with plants. But for another reason 
1 would build a house expressly for hanging and storing 
tobacco. Make it of good, liberal dimensions, thirty 
feet wide, by forty or more in length ; posts, fourteen 
feet, with two tier of girts for poles to rest on ; one tier 
can hang on the beams, and another above on the pur- 
lin plates, thus hanging four tiers under the same 
roof. Ventilate by a ventilator in the roof, also by 
hanging every other board of the siding on hinges. 
For such a building, I would have a tight floor to the 
whole, and underneath a good walled cellar lighted 
with suitable windows, and chimney in one corner, 
with a stove, to keep fire in in very cold weather, to 
work by when stripping the tobacco. For poles to 
hang on, I would get, if possible, straight, slim, white 
pine staddles about four or five inches in diameter ; 
shave the bark oft" smooth, and we have poles that will 
last and remain straight a lifetime, if kept housed. 
Hanging. — Having provided all required, even to the 
strong cotton or hemp twine for tying up the tobacco, 
have a good man to hand it to j'ou. Connnence by tying 
the end of your twine around the but of a plant, about 
two inciies from the end, in a slip or loose knot ; place 
this plant at one side of the pole near the end, your 
hand carrying the twine over the pole ; on the opposite 
side of the pole, about six inches along, place an- 
other plant, and with a single turn of the twine around 
it from before, round back, and by drawing it close, 
the plant is secure. Proceed thus till you have filled 
your pole ; then with a knife, cut a notch in the pole 
and draw your twine through, and it is fast. You can 
now cut it off and commence another pole. Place the 
poles far enough apart to prevent the tobacco crowd- 
ing ; about a foot will do. In this manner you will 
have a row of plants hanging on each side, of the pole 
about a foot apart. The man, in handing up, should 
take the plant by the but, carefully from the pile or 
load, raise it up and gently shake it sideways, to shake 
off dirt and loosen the leaves when stuck together, 
and also adhering to the stalk ; with the other hand, 
take hold about midways of the stalk and pass to the 
one tying up, enabling him to receive the plant in such 
a way as to not need to shift it in his hand, but to 
place it immediately into its position beside the pole. 
All leaves which are accidentally or otherwise broken 
from the plants, should be gathered up each day, and 
hung three or four in a bunch, the same way as the 
plants, or string them on a string ; the latter is the 
best way — with a large needle-thread, a suitable 
cord, and on to this string' the leaves one at a time, by 
running the needle through near the end of the stem. 
These can be hung by attacliing the two ends to some 



suitable nail, and having it remain stretclied. In this 
way they will cure very well. 

Coring and Stripping. — Having housed the 
whole of your crop, give it all the air you can, by 
opening doors, shutters, etc. Let them remain open 
during pleasant weather, remembering to close them 
in wet, damp weather, as well as nights ; and also 
shading the crop so far as may be from the direct 
rays of the sun, to prevent blanching. When it haa 
nearly cured, shut it up and let it remain till perfectly 
cured. This may be known by the stem of the leaves 
being dried up, so that no green sap will show itself. 
If you have hung in your stables and other places that 
you wish to use, it will be necessary to take it down 
and strip it at the first favorable opportunity, which ia 
described farther along. The separate building else- 
where described is to be preferred, as it does not 
necessitate any immediate hurry in getting it down. 
In such it can be allowed to hang and freeze and thaw 
two or three times, which improves the color and 
weight, and will give more leisure in stripping, etc. 
Watch a favorable time, when it rains and is damp, 
to open your buildings, and let in the damp air till 
the tobacco is damped, so that it can be handled 
without any danger of breaking the leaves. It need 
not get too damp, as in that case it is liable to injure 
in the pile before you can get it stripped. It will 
gain dampness from the stalk. You may now com- 
mence where you hung the last plant on the pole, and 
you can very readily unwind and take down the 
whole. (It is best to save the twine, at present prices, 
as it will answer to use again.) Having previously 
prepared a place in the cellar under your building, by 
laying down some boards to keep the tobacco fioin 
the ground, have help enough to take it as fast as taken 
from the poles, and carry it to the place prepared, 
and pack it, by placing the buts out and the tips in, 
and overlapping about one third the length ; this 
should be done evenly in layers, keeping the bats 
just even, so that no leaves may hang out to gee dry, 
and thus be wasted. Having taken down and tnu» 
packed a suitable quantity, the stripping may com- 
mence. As much should be taken down as can be 
stripped in from four to six days, as ordinarily it will 
not lie longer in a pile without heating, and not as 
long if the weather be mild or damp. It is best to do 
only what can be well done witn tne help you can 
command. Begin to assort the leaves; it is best to 
make three sorts ; first, for fillers, the poorest ; second, 
the next imperfect ; and lastly, the perfect and best 
leaves. In this way you get more in the aggregate 
for the crop, than if only two sorts are made. Lei 
one take the plants and strip the very poorest, usually 
the ground-leaves, holding them in his hand with the 
stems even, till he gets a hand about two inches in 
diameter, and then with a leaf, bind around, begin- 
ning at the but as close as may be — the closer, tlm 
better it will look — and wind it around, spreading it 



18 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



down a little and finish by tucking the end into the 
hand. Next after, take the same plants and open 
eacli leaf, ai.d strip all imperfect for the second 
quality. Lastly, strip the remaining perfect leaves, 
keeping each sort by itself, and being very particular 
to keep the ends of the stems even, also the leaves 
which are of a length in the same hand, especially of 
the best sort. An imperfect leaf will do as well as 
any to bind the hands with, and will be a saving ; be 
Bure and Jo this part very neatly ; for if bunglingly 
done, the nicest tobacco will show very poorly, where- 
as, a smaller growth well done will show to better 
advantage, and perhaps outsell the larger growth. 

Packing. — After having stripped, it is best to pack it 
down properly each day it is done, in some place secure 
from drying winds, or from wet, or any thing from which 
moisture may be absorbed. Pack it buts out with 
the tips in, and lapping about one third the length, 
laying one row of buts one way, then another in the 
opposite, keeping them straight and even, to prevent 
the air from drying it ; press it down by standing on 
it on your knee.^ while packing, and fini.^h off by cover- 
ing it closely with either blankets or boards, and on top 
put weights to press it down as compact as possible. 
It is now ready for inspection by the tobacco-dealer, 
and unless you wish to case it yourself, it will remain 
in this situation perfectly safe. If sold to a specula- 
tor, he would probably prefer to case it himself, 
should it be necessary for you to remove it. Having 
once packed it in a pile, you can pack it on a wagon 
having sideboards, keeping the buts outside at the 
ends and covering up closely. Be carefid to keep the 
leaves straight, to prevent wrinkles, which make it 
look very bad. If you are desirous of casing the 



tobacco yourself, procure cases made of one-inch 
boards, planed on one side, of the following dimen- 
sions : three and a half feet long, and two and a half 
feet the other way ; these any joiner can make, or if you 
have the tools, make them yourself. Procure four 
cleats two and a half feet long, one inch thick, and 
three wide ; to these nail the ends, which are to be two 
and a half feet long ; on these ends nail the sides ; turn 
the box down and nail on the bottom ; let it come out 
flush with the sides, and it will be two and eight 
twelfths feet wide; turn t le other side up and fit the 
cover ; this need be merely tacked on so as to be 
easily removed when wished. You now have a box 
into which you can press three hundred weight of 
tobacco. To pack it properly, have one to hand it, 
while another packs it in the case, the buts against 
each end of the case, letting the tips lap in the middle ; 
fill about three fourths the way to the top ; have a fol- 
lower to fit the size of your box, made by nailing 
boards to two good, stout cleats, one near each end. 
Put this follower on with good blocking above ; press it 
by a lever twelve or more feet long, having a fulcrum 
at the short arm, and the force of two men on the 
long arm of the lever ; by filling and pressing in this 
way about three times, you may get in three hundred 
pounds, which is enough to handle conveniently. 

I have thus given a precise account of the practice 
of the most experienced and successful growers of the 
crop in the State of Connecticut. I might also here 
remark that this experience and observation has ex- 
tended over a period of nearly thirty years from the 
time I was a small lad, when the tobacco was sold hero 
at three or four cents a pound. It is now selling as high 
as thirty for the first quality. 



No. V.-BY OLIVER T. BISHOP, HARTFORD COUNTY, CONN. 



Tobacco has been raised in the valley of the Con- 
necticut for more than twenty-five years, and has gra- 
dually spread in extent, until it has become one of the 
" staples," especially in Connecticut and Massachusetts. 
Its culture will demand the almost constant attention 
of the cultivator, from the time of sowing the seed 
until it is carried to market. 

Seed-Bed. — As soon as the frost is out of the 
ground, and the land is sufiiciently dry to allow of the 
working of the soil, which, in this latitude, is general- 
ly from the first to the fifteenth of April, the seed 
may be sown. The bed should be in some warm lo- 
eadty, and near water, if convenient, in order to facih- 
taie watering the plants; this, however, is immaterial. 
h good plan is, to manure the spot well and plow it 
in the fall, and if removed from buildings, pile on, in 
the spring, a heap of brush, burn it, and rake in the 
ashes with the soil ; remove all stones and sticks, and 
pulve/lze the soil thoroughly. The next day it will be 
ready for sowing, giving the ground time to cool, so as 
not to burr the seed. If very early in the season. 



the seed maybe sown dry, by mixing it with plaster, in 
order that it may be more evenly distributed. Later in 
the season, the seed should be sprouted by mixing it 
with some fine mould, or decayed wood, such as is 
foimd in old, hollow apple-trees, and placing it near 
the stove or warm place, keeping it moist ; let it 
remain four or five days, or until you can see that it 
has just sprouted. Then sow it, using at the rate of 
a thimbleful of seed for each square rod of the bed. 
Do not cover the seed, but simply pat down the bed 
with a shovel or board, and cover it over with some 
brush to keep off hens, etc. When the seed is sprout- 
ed it will generally come up in a week, soraetimea 
sooner, and may be known by having two very small, 
nearly round leaves. After the plants are up, sow on a 
little plaster occasionally. Keep the plants free from 
weeds, and thin them out where too thick. If it 
should be dry weather, the plants should be watered 
every night, using a common watering-pot ; a weak 
solution of guano occasionally will stimulate them. 
The ground should not be allowed to get dry, as th« 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



19 



plants will not grow. A tight board-fence put up on 
the north and west sides of the bed will keep off 
cold winds and reflect the rays of the sun. The 
bed should be covered with blankets or straw on frosty 
nights or the plants may be destroyed. The kind of 
tobacco best adapted to this locality, and generally 
grown here, is the broad-leaf v&rxciy of the Connecti- 
cut seed-leaf. There is a great difference in the width 
of leaves of the same length, and it is just as easy to 
raise a large, broad leaf, as a long and narrow one. 

Preparation of Soil. — A rich, gravelly soil is best 
adapted for the culture of tobacco, producing a finer 
quality than can be growTi on meadow-land. A piece 
that was highly manured last season, and planted to 
corn, will be a good place to try. Let the land be 
plowed deep about the first of May, turning under a 
aeavy coat of coarse barn-yard manure, say from 
thirty to fifty cart-loads to the acre, to the depth of 
seven or eight inches. About the twentieth of May 
barrow it thoroughly, and from the first to the tenth 
of June put on well-rotted manure or compost, at 
the rate of fifteen or twenty loads per acre, and with 
a light, one-horse plow ridge up the land, making the 
ridges from three and a half to three and three quar- 
ter feet apart; make small ridges, just enough to 
turn under the manure, that is, about three or four 
inches above the surface. I have found this plan of 
I'idging the land to work well, as it can be done quick- 
er and it gives a chance to set out the plants a little 
higher than when the land is plowed clean, unless you 
make too much of a hill, in which case the plants are 
more liable to dry up. It, at the same time, obviates 
the danger of setting them too low, leaving them 
in danger of being flooded and covered with dii-t in 
case of a powerful rain. After the land is ridged, 
make, with a hoe, a little hill or spot where each plant 
is to be set, taking care to remove therefrom all trash 
or stones. If desirable to have the rows run both 
ways, make the hills crosswise the ridges, with the 
rows two and a half feet apart, with the hills on each 
ridge, or if but one way, make the hills on the ridge 
every two and a half feet, or nearly so. This makes 
the plants three and a half, or three and three quarter 
feet between the rows, (to allow a cultivator to be run 
between the rows, and give room to sucker and worm 
the plants when large,) and two and a half feet in the 
row, giving five Or six thousand to the acre. About 
the fifteenth of June, or as near that time as the 
weather will admit, is the right time to begin to set 
out the plants. 

Transplanting. — Having the ground prepared as 
stated, immediately after a rain, or what is better, just 
previous to a shower, take up the plants that are large 
enough, that is, those that have three or four leaves as 
large as a silver dollar. If the bed is not too hard, 
they may be pulled up by placing the two fore-fingers 
of one hand under the leaves and the thumb over 
them: if the roots break off, tl:? ground can be loosen- 



ed by running a fork down b^ the side of the plant 
Place the plants in a basket or pan, and when full, let 
one go over the rows, dropping one plant on each hill. 
Set them out by making a hole in the center of tha 
hill with the fore-finger, placing the roots carefully, and 
press the soil about them firmly. If it rains soon af- 
ter they are set, or if the ground is quite wet, they will 
soon take root and commence growing ; should the 
sun come out hot, they will need to be protected by 
placing some short, green grass over each plant and 
watering it well ; this, however, is not necessary if th« 
ground is much wet. Much depends upon having a goo'l 
time for setting. After the twentieth, if you have no*, 
the plants large enough to set, get them somewhere 
else, if you can, (they can generally be obtained for 
from fifty cents to one dollar per thousand,) if you 
have a good time for setting They will generally wilt 
down during the day, but if they look fresh in the 
morning they will do well. A little plaster sprinkled 
on the leaves helps them along at this time. The 
plants should be looked over every morning or two, 
as the cut-worms are sometimes quite troublesome. 
Dig around the roots of every plant that has been 
eaten, to find the worms. Sometimes, a plant that 
looks well, apparently, has been spoiled by having the 
middle eaten out. All missing plants should be re-set 
as soon as possible, that they may be uniform in size, 
as that adds greatly to the beauty of the crop, and 
nothing looks much finer, while growing, than i field 
of tobacco of uniform size. 

CcLTivATiON. — After the plants have been set alion 
two weeks, or long enough to get rooted, they will 
need hoeing, to loosen the ground around them and 
kill the weeds which may have started. Use a com 
mon cultivator, going twice between each row to 'evel 
the " balk " between each ridge, and work .t thorough 
ly. Care should be taken not to let it run too near 
the plants so as to disturb the roots or to cover the 
leaves with dirt. Then, with a hoe, level off the ridge 
between each plant a little and hoe lightly around 
them. In this way an acre of tobacco can be hoed near, 
ly as quickly as an acre of corn. Hoeing should be 
repeated often enough to keep the land free from weeds 
and the ground light about the plants. It can be 
easily hoed without the cultivator, or yoti can use it 
taking out the two back-teeth (or one of them) after 
the plants get larger. 

Insects. — The cut-worms will conti' ue to trouble 
till there have been a few hot days, or the plants get 
leaves as large as the hand, after which they will do 
but httle damage. Missing plants may be re-set until 
about the tenth of July ; after that time they will not 
do much. The top, or tobacco-worms, begin to ap- 
pear about as soon as the cut- worms leave, and if well 
cleared out at first, when they can be more easily 
found, much time and tobacco will be saved. 

Topping. — Cultivators do not agree as to the time 
and where to top the plants. Some fiivor the plan a' 



20 



HuW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



topping as soon as the blossom-buds appear, others 
Drefer to wait until in blossom. I think there is no 
harm in letting the earliest plants bloom before being 
topped, but after once beginning, they should be 
broken off as soon as tlie buds begin to look yellow, 
and the latest plants as soon as the buds appear. A 
new beginner will be apt to top the plants too high. 
The object is to ripen and develop as many leaves as 
the plant can support ; if topped too high, the top 
leaves are small, and when cured are nearly worthless, 
and the other leaves are not as large or heavy, where- 
as, if topped too low, then you lose one, two, or three 
leaves, which the plant might have supported. As a 
general rule, a plant just in blossom should be topped 
down to where the leaves are full seven inches wide, 
leaving on the stalk from fifteen to eighteen leaves. 
This will leave the stalks about two and a half feet 
high in good tobacco. Later in the season top the 
plants sooner and lower. Let as many of the earliest 
plants as will be wanted remain for seed. One plant 
will furnish seed enough to put out five acres, at least. 
These should be wormed and suckered like the rest, 
only leaving the suckers above where you would ordi- 
narily break it off, were you to top it. The piece should 
now be looked over every other day, to break off the 
euckers and catch the worm. This should be done as 
Boon as the dew is off in the morning, and towards 
night, as the worms are eating then, and can be found 
more readily, while in the heat of the day they remain 
bid. Great care should be taken not to break off the 
leaves while going through it, as they are nearly all 
wasted before the crop is ripe. 

SucKERiNG. — As soon as the top is broken off the 
eap is thrown into the leaves, causing them to expand 
rapidly. In the mean time suckers will start out just 
above where each leaf joins the stalk ; these must be 
broken off, or the growth of the leaf will be check- 
ed, as the sap will be thrown into these young sprouts. 
Those nearest the top will start soonest, and will 
require breaking off twice before the plant is ripe ; 
those at the bottom must all be broken off. This is 
the hardest and slowest work of all. Not only will 
these suckers check the growth of the plants, but if 
allowed to grow will soon break or pry off the leaves, 
or cause them to grow out at right angles from the 
stalk, rendering them more liable to be broken off. 
It is a good plan to have a piece of corn on the 
north side of a piece of tobacco, or, at least, two or 
three rows, to shield the growing plants from winds. 

Cutting and Hanging. — The plants grow rapidly 
and require less than three months from the time of 
setting before they are ready to cut. Any one used 
to the cultivation of the crop knows when it is ripe, 
the veins of the leaves are swollen, the leaves begin to 
look spotted and feel thick and gummy. The ends of 
the leavp.s will crack on being doubled up. After it 
ts ripe the sooner it is cut the better, as it is liable to 
injury by frost or hail, and will not increase in weight 



as fast as the worms eat it, and the leaves get brokeE 
by catching them. The plants will generally ripen from 
the first to the fifteenth of September ; they should 
not be cut immediately after a heavy rain unless in 
danger of frost, as a portion of the gum washes out, 
but should be allowed to stand two or three daya 
The cutting should not begin until the dew is off; a 
cloudy day is best, for when the sun shines hot, they 
will not have time to wilt sufficiently before they will 
sunburn, which may be known by the leaves turning 
white and looking puckered. Commence on one side 
of the piece, laying the plants all one way, in order to 
facilitate loading. The plants may, most of them, be 
broken off easily, by gently bending them over one 
way and another. Small plants, which will not break, 
may be sawed off with an old saw or cut with a 
hatchet. If the sun shines too hot, the plants should 
be turned over carefully to prevent burning. After 
lying an hour or two to wilt sufficiently, so as not to 
break by handling, they may be carted to the barn or 
shed. Ample room for curing should be provided, 
and if any one expects to raise tobacco for any length 
of time, it is best to have a building built expressly 
for it. 

Buildings. — In the first place one wants to know 
about how much room they will need, and then build 
accordingly. To hang an acre of good tobacco re- 
quires a building about thirty by twenty-four feet 
with fifteen-feet posts. Two girths should be framed 
into the posts on all sides of the building ; one five 
feet above the sill, and the other ten feet above, to 
rest the poles on, also to nail the covering boards to. 
This gives a space of five feet for each tier of plants. 
Have a beam run across the center of the building, 
with a post in the middle with girths to correspond 
with those on the side, extending lengthwise tlirougb 
the middle of the building for the polos or rails, each 
twelve feet in length, to be laid upon ; or if sticks are 
to be used (as hereafter described) lay rails or poles 
once in four feet for the sticks to rest upon. Place a 
ventilator upon the center of the roof, and have one 
board in every four feet hung on hinges, to be opened 
or closed at pleasure. If made with a floor and a cel- 
lar underneath, to let down the tobacco into when 
ready strip, it is all the better. We will now return 
to the crop, and commence hanging it. A common 
way of doing it is by tying with common twine. 
Tie the end of the string tightly around the but of one 
plant, and by placing it against the side of the polt 
nearest you, put another plant on the opposite side anC 
carry the string over and around it, placing the plants 
alternately on each side of the pole until filled, ther 
fasten the string, place the pole in the right place, (il 
should be nearly right before it is filled,) and commence 
on the next one in like manner, having some one to 
hand the plants as wanted. As to how thick to hang it 
depends upon the size of the plants, but in good-sized 
tobacco about nine inches on each side is close eroigh, 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



21 



that will lo from thirty to thirty-two ou each pole of 
twelve feet; place the poles from fifteen to eighteen 
inches apart. Another method of hanging, much prac- 
ticed and approved by many, is to hang on slats or 
eticks sawed out four feet long, one and quarter 
inches wide and five eighths of an inch thick. Chest- 
nut timber is generally used here. The common lath 
answers very well for this purpose. An iron made 
something like a chisel is used to slip on to one end 
of the sticks, which are sharpened a little at one end 
to receive it. It is made about eight inches long, 
wedge-shaped at the small end, and a socket one half 
by one inch to slip on to the sticks. When 
ready for use have a place fixed near where you 
unload, to hold one of these sticks out at right 
angles from a post and' about four feet from the 
ground. Let the plants be handed you from the load 
and slip them on the stick, piercing the stalk about 
six inches from the but ; put six or seven plants of 
medium size on each stick, thicker if smaller; when 
hung it will appear as in the cut. As each stick is 
filled, it may be carried to its place in the barn. In 
getting them to the top of the barn they may be hand- 
ed up with a pitchfork, lifting them by the middle of 
the sticks. These sticks should be about eight inches 
apart. I think a greater amount can be put into a 
given space by this method without danger of sweat- 
ing, as it is more evenly distributed. The loose leaves 
that have been broken off while handling, may be 
cured by placing four or five together and securing to 
a snail pole, in the same way as plants are hung with 
twine. 

Saving Seed. — Strip the leaves off from the seed- 
stalks and tie up the stalks to a stake driven into the 
ground by them, else they may be blown over. The 
seed should be gathered before hard frosts destroy their 
vitality ; when fully ripe the pods or seed-vessels may 
be picked off and dried, then crush or roll them be- 
tween the hands until the seeds are all out, the seeds 
may then be separated from the chaff by passing it 
through a fine sieve. 

Curing. — After the crop is all housed the building 
should be well ventilated by opening the doors and 
boards on hinges, to secure a free circulation of air 
throughout the building. On rainy, damp, or very 
windy days the building should be shut up as tightly 
as possible, and opened again on return of fair weath- 
er. After hanging several weeks, until the leaves are 
mostly dried, the building should be closed to prevent 
tlie dry leaves from being broken by winds. It usu- 
ally requires about twelve weeks to cure the plants 
thoroughly, that is, so that there is no more juice in 
the liaves or leaf-stems; it matters not if the main 
etalk is not dry, you need not expect it, and there 
will be green leaves that will not cure but freeze while 
green and are worthless. It will then be ready for 

[Stripping. — This must be done only after a damp, 
rainy spell has softened the leaves, so that they Tiay 



be handled without breaking ; it may then be taken 
from the poles and stripped as fast as taken down, or 
it may be carried into a cellar and be piled in heaps to 
be stripped at leisure ; care must be taken, however, 
not to let it remain too long in this condition, as the 
green stalks would soon heat and injure it. To strip 
a plant, hold it in the left hand by the but, and with 
the other pull off all the bottom leaves and drop them 
on the ground or floor in a pile for " fillers," or the 
poorest quality ; next, take off three or four more, or 
until you come to the best leaves, these put in anotlier 
heap for the " seconds ;" now strip off the remainder 
for wrappers, except such as are badly worm-eaten or 
otherwise injured — such go into a poorer quality: 
throw the stalk away and put the handful of wrappers 
under the left arm to hold while stripping another 
plant in like manner, put the two handfuls of wrap- 
pers together, taking pains to keep the buts even, and 
bind them by firmly winding a leaf around them at 
the but, commencing within a half or three quartera 
of an inch from the end, and winding down smoothly 
about two inches, part the hand and put the end 
of the band between the parts, tiien close it 
again, thus securing the end and holding it tight. 
If the plants are very large, the leaves from each may 
be tied up separately instead of putting two together. 
Hands that will weigh half a pound are about larg« 
enough. The seconds and fillers are afterward picked 
up and tied in the same manner. Much of the value 
of tobacco in maiket depends upon the manner in 
which it is assorted and done up, as a few poor leaves 
in a hand would make a difference of several cents per 
pound in the price; none but good sound leaves, free 
from rust, pole-sweat, frost, or large holes should goi 
into the best quality. Small plants rarely contain ;iny 
first quality, but should go into the seconds and fillers. 
A little practice will enable any one to sort it proper- 
ly, better than any rules that can be laid down on pa- 
per. There is much difference in the color and fine- 
ness of the leaf, a darkish red or cinnamon color is 
preferred to tliat of a darker shade ; the veins should 
be small and far apart and dark as the leaf, as " white 
stems " are objectionable by reason of their growing 
lighter still when going through the sweat after it is 
cased. After it is stripped it should be packed down 
in a cool dry place. Lay some boards flat on the 
ground about four feet wide, and as long as you wish 
the pile to be, and commence by laying a row on one 
side of the platform with the buts out, then on tho 
other side in the same way, letting the tips lap about 
six inches, or just enough to keep the pile level ; pro- 
ceed in this way, laying on each side alternately till 
all is packed ; lay the hands as close to each other as 
possible, not sprawled out like an open fan, but com- 
pactly. Lay some boards on top of the pile and put 
on just weight enough to keep them snug. Some 
boards or blinkets should be put at the ends of the 
pile to keep it from drying up. The seconds and 
fillers are packed in the same way ; they mav bo 



22 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



packed in a separate pile or on top, or at the ends of 
the wrappers. It is now ready for market. If it 
should remain long in pile it should be examined oc- 
casionally to see that it does not hurt, as it sometimes 
happens that when taken down, stripped and packed 
wiien it is too damp, it will grow damper and perhaps 
01. If too damp, it should be repacked on some 
windy day to give it an airing, shaking out the damp- 
est hands and letting them remain exposed till suffi- 
ciently dry to be repacked. The stalks, after being 
stripped, should eitlier be spread on grass land and 
remain till spring, when they may be raked up and 
carted on to the laud designed for the next crop of 
tobacco, and burnt, or let them remain in the barn till 
spring, when they may be cut up fine and dropped 
into potato or corn-hills, using a good-sized handful 
to each hill. 

I have raised the past season on a little more than 
three fourths of an acre one thousand four hundred and 
twenty-seven pounds wrappers, worth at the present 



time twenty-five cents ; two hundred and twenty-one 
pounds seconds, worth twelve cents ; and one hundred 
and forty-six pounds fillers, worth ten cents ; amount- 
ing to one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four 
pounds, worth three hundred and ninety-seven dollars 
and eighty-seven cents. 

Cost of raising an acre of tobacco : 

Interest on land, $12 00 

60 loads manure at $1, one half is, 30 00 

Plowing twice and spreading manure,. ..... . 3 00 

Making hills, I 00 

6000 plants, at 50 cents, 3 00 

Setting out plants, 2 00 

Hoeing three times, 5 OC 

Worming, topping, and suckering, 10 00 

Cutting and hanging, 10 00 

Stripping, 10 00 

Hauling to market, etc., 4 00 

$90 00 



No. VI.-BY A. S. THOMAS, HIGHLAND COUNTY, OHIO. 



I WAS raised in one of the best tobacco-growing 
districts in Eastern Virginia, and was famiUar with 
every step in its production for twenty-four years. I 
moved to this State in the fall (xf 1844, and have 
raised more or less of it ever since. Therefore, I 
ought be competent to give the " practical informa- 
tion" desired. 

The Seed. — In Virginia there were as many varieties 
of tobacco-seed as of corn or wheat. I will name a 
few: The "Big Fredei'ick," the "Little Frederick," 
the " Blue Stalk," the " Brittle Stem," the " Big 
Orinoco," the " Little Orinoco," and half a dozen 
others, each having, or supposed to have, some charac- 
teristic distinguishing it from all the others. But the 
" Brittle Stem " and the " Orinocos " were the varie- 
ties mostly cultivated, the former for its early maturi- 
ty, the latter for its comparative heaviness. There 
are several varieties, also, in this vicinity, such as the 
" Bi-ittle Stem," the " Graham Tobacco," and the 
" Cuban," but the names convey little certain informa- 
tion, as the same varieties bear different names iu 
different localities. But some varieties are evidently 
to be preferred to others — one, noted for early matu- 
rity, all things else equal, is preferable to another that 
ripens late. One, distinguished for fineness of texture, 
all things else equal, is better than another of coarser 
filjcr, etc. Upon the whole, the surest and most jorq/?^- 
able variety is that which ripens earUest, and yields 
the largest number of pounds, cured, to a given num- 
ber of hills planted. 

SowiNU. — In Virginia this was done in the first fa- 
voiuble weather in February, and I have done so here 
up to the la? jeai. But, hereafter, I shall sow as 
soon is convenient after the seed is ripe. I was led 



to this conclusion by this fact : two years I saw mil- 
lions of plants coming up imder the seed-stalks of the 
previous year ; the seeds had fallen to the ground, sur- 
vived the winter, and were more forward than that 
sowed in February in prepared beds. 

Seed-Bed. — It should be moist, or convemuif to 
water, as it may require watering in dry weather. It 
should have an open, southern aspect. It should be 
burned sufficiently to kill the seeds of all weeds and 
wild grasses, for if not then killed they will come on 
before the tobacco-plants and surely destroy them. 
Hence the importance of thorough burning. Having 
burnt the ground well, rake off the coals and all other 
rough and coarse materials. When cool enough, dig 
it up fine and sow the seed. Any one that can sow 
cabbage or turnip-seed can sow tobacco-seed. 

Quantity of Seed. — A table-spoonful of good seed 
will sow one hundred square yards. Such a bed, un- 
der favorable conditions, will yield ten thousand plants, 
and so in proportion. If the bed should need water, 
give it, and finely-pounded sheep-manure sowed over 
it will greatly expedite the growth of the plants. If 
the seeds are sowed too thick the plants will be crowd- 
ed, and fail to obtain the proper size, at the right 
time. It is evidently important to have the plants uni- 
form in size, and as many of them as possible put out 
at the first planting. Therefore, endeavor to have 
enough of plants in your bed or beds — to have them 
all of the same size, that all may be planted out at 
the first planting. When that is the case, the primingi 
the lopping, and the cutting can all be done regularly. 
But when planted at intervals of two or three weeks 
all the subsequent operations come on irreg darly. 
With seed sown any time before the first of Marcli, 



EXPERIENCE OF PKACTICAI. GROWERS. 



23 



In properly-prepared beds, aud other conditions favor- 
able, the plants cau be set out some time between the 
twenty- fifth of May and tentn of June. At that time 
their leaves will be as large as a dollar-piece. Over- 
grown plants are not desirable. But before your plants 
arc ready you should attend to 

Thk Kind of Land. — This depends somewhat upon 
the character of the tobacco designed to be raised. 
If the object is weight, take old and rich land. The 
richer, (with animal manures,) the heavier the tobacco ; 
the heavier the tobacco, the coarser will be its charac- 
ter, and, in old-established markets, the less it will 
bring per pound. Any rich land will bring heavy to- 
bacco, provided it is not too wet. Excessive moisture 
is destructive to its growth. No farming product is so 
effectually destroyed on wet lands as tobacco, and 
none is so little affected by dry weather. Last season 
Xheve was no rain in this section from the third July till 
the thirteenth of October. Other crops were seriously 
shortened in consequence of such a drought, but bet- 
ter tobacco 1 never saw grow. I would say, then, 
that any land, good for any otner crop, will bring good 
tobacco, if it is not too wet. 

The Preparation of the Land. — To do this weil, 
(and it is greatly to the interest of the grower,) re- 
quires deep plowing and thorough harrowing. Like 
all other crops, tobacco will do best in land best pre- 
pared for it. Having plowed and harrowed the land, 
the next step is to lay it off in rows. If the land is 
old ground, and rich enough to bring eighty bushels 
of corn to the acre, mark olf the rows four and a half 
feet each way, to the cardinal points, if convenient, 
but, in any case, as straight as possible. This is es- 
sential to the subsequent thorough plowings. In Vir- 
ginia the practice was to make hills as large as a 
bushel of sand would ; but I am perfectly sure that 
three fourths of that labor was unprofitable. Nor is 
it best to plant on a flat surface, for two reasons : first, 
because the plants are likely to be overflowed in wet 
spells ; and, second, because they can not be as neatly 
or as well worked with the hoe or plow. For these 
reasons I would prefer an elevation of six or eight 
inches, and to obtain it I would throw two furrows 
together with a one-horse turning-plow. When ready 
to plant, these ridges should be flattened six inches 
square, at intervals of exactly four feet, at which 
points the plants should be set out, just as you would 
cabbage or tomato-plants. Having planted your crop, 
iJie next consideration is 

The Mode of Citltivating. — When the leaves are 
tialf the size of a man's hand, it should be gone over 
with a cultivator, or what is called here a "double- 
ehovel." Whatever the implement may be, the object 
of the operation should be to stir the land four inches 
deep, and kill the starting grass or weeds. This plow- 
ing should be followed by a hoeing, taking the grass 
out of the hill, and covering the surface all around, 
•nd up to the plant. When the leaves are eight or 



ten inches long, the crop shoulA icceive a second plow^ 
ing, followed immediately by », second hoeing, with 
the same general objects. No other hoeing is r&- 
quired, unless the land be very foul, but a third plow, 
ing should be given about two weeks after the second. 

Now, the substance of these directions is simply 
this : to work tobacco, with plow and hoe, in such 
ways, and at such times, and with the same object in 
view as you would any other crop, and that is, to de- 
stroy grass and weeds, and keep the surface well pul- 
verized. Under favorable conditions, your plants are 
now in a state to receive another manipulation. But 
before I proceed to that, I will remark, that I have seen 
many valuable crops of tobacco raised without any 
hoe-work — altogether with the plow. 

Priming. — This consists in pulling of the bottom 
leaves, to the number of four or five. Any plant 
large enough to top ought to be primed first ; as a 
general rule is, not to prime until the plant is ready 
to top also. Many good planters omit the priming 
process altogether, though by that plan they increase 
the class called " lugs," and lighten their other and 
better qualities of tobacco. But I would advise all 
planteis to prime their crops. The next work in the 
cultivation of tne crop is called 

Topping. — This is the most important operation yei 
performed, and simply means pinching out the bud, or 
cutting off the top of the growing plant — important, 
from the fact that the operation may leave too many 
leaves on the stalk to grow, and ripen, if they can, or 
it may take off some that would have grown and ripen- 
ed well. It is evident that the growing stalk must be 
shortened at some point ; hence the necessity of the 
exercise of judgment. 

If the directions already given have been duly 
observed, five sixths of the crop will be large enough 
to top and prime in August, and ripe enough to cut by 
the fifteenth or twentieth of September. But if a rule 
mvst be given, I would suggest the following : Prime 
the plant, as above directed, then count as many 
leaves, from the bottom up, as there are weeks inter- 
vening between the time of doing it and the fifteenth of 
October. I say the fifteenth of October, because that is 
the time at which killing frosts usually come in this 
latitude. There are, no doubt, exceptions to this rule ; 
but it is designed only as a general one. All condi- 
tions "favorable, a tobacco-plant will ripen in as many 
weeks, from the time of topping it, as there are leaves 
left on the stalk. Consequentlj', if the topping ia 
done early, it can be topped high", if later, it must be 
done lower, and if still later, still lower. Planters 
differ very much at this point. Some will top as high 
as sixteen leaves, others ten, and a great many at 
eight. My own opinion is, that a plant topped at tea 
will weigh as much as one at sixttsen, topped at the 
same time, and on the same kind of land. I think I 
have been sufficiently explicit on that point. Too 
much particularity might discourage the learner, ther© 



24 



HOW TO BAISE TOBACCO. 



fore, I will next give some hints upon the part of the 
work next claiming the attention of the grower, and 
that is 

SucKERiNG. — Abom a week after a plant has been 
topped the suckers will begin to grow. A sucker is 
only an auxiliary branch which shoots out at the junc- 
tion of the leaves to the stalk. If not removed, they 
will grow, and bloom, and ripen seed, and in doing so 
they will suck the parent-stem of much of its vitality. 
When the crop of suckers are about an inch long they 
can be pulled or rubbed off, and it should surely be 
done. In about a week or ten days a second crop of 
them will appear. These must also be promptly re- 
moved, and then the third crop will show itself, which 
must be similarly treated. The longer they are per- 
mitted to remain on the plant, the more they retard 
its development, and delay its maturity. 

Worming. — This operation is simply to kill the 
" tobacco-worms." These worms are hatched from 
eggs deposited by what is called the " tobacco-fly." It 
is a large, dusky-brown, winged miller, nearly as large 
as a humming-bird. It lays its eggs on fair evenings 
and moonlight nights in July and August. It can be 
seen almost any clear evening, among what are called 
" Jinison-weeds," sucking the flowers. The eggs will 
hatch out in twenty-four hours, and the worms com- 
luence eatuig when less than half an inch long, and con- 
tinue to eat till they attain the length of four or five 
inches. One worm, in six weeks, will destroy a plant so 
completely as to render it utterly valueless. This pest 
is vastly more numerous in some seasons than in others. 
Four years ago there were scarcely any ; but for the 
last three years thuy have been destructively numerous. 
The worming of the crop, when they are numerous, 
is, by far, the most disagreeable and tedious labor at- 
tending it. Much of the vahie of the crop depends 
upon the care or inattention of performing this part 
of the work. The crop may have been planted 
in good time — plowed, hoed, primed, suckered, top- 
ped, cut, and cured well ; yet it may have been so 
riddled by worms as to be comparatively good for 
nothing in market ; hence, they must be picked oft" and 
destroyed, and that promptly. Having planted in due 
time, worked, wormed, and suckered properly, the 
crop begins to show signs of ripeness, and here the 
question presents itself: 

When is Tobacco Ripe ? — This is, in truth, a simple 
question, and every one will answer it by saying, when 
it has arrived at, or attained to, perfection. But the 
difficulty is, to know certainly when that is — to un- 
derstand the accompanying indications. To a novice, 
this is a difficult (juestion, and will remain one until he 
Las seen a specimen — a plant of ripe tobacco ; then 
it is plain. As in many other plant?, the ripeness of 
toDacco is known principally by il> r-olor ; and it is 
no easy matter to describe, with absolute accuracy, 
any particular, shade of color ; but there are other 
signs accompanying, which have reference to the gene- 



ral appearance of the plant. With a little judgment 
and discrimination, the following general rule will be 
found to answer. I will first observe that, all things 
favorable, tobacco can be primed and topped in six or 
seven weeks after planting ; and may be cut in as 
many weeks, after topping, as there are leaves left ou 
the stalk. 

When a plant begins to ripen, it will gradually 
assume a " piebald" or spotted appearance. As the 
ripening advances the spots will become more distinct 
and individualized. When the spots can be distinguish- 
ed at the distance of ten steps, and the leo.ves of the 
plant turn down, become stiff' to the touch, and their 
ends curl under, the plant is ripe, and should be cut. 
From the moment it has arrived at maturity it begina 
to decay. 

Cutting. — Remember that all the plants in your 
crop are to be liung after they are cut — hung on. 
something, and hy something. Prepare a knife — a 
butcher-knife answers well — have it sharp — enter it 
at the top of the plant, where the top was broken 
oft'. Enter it centrally; press it downwards, divid- 
ing the stalk into two equal portions. Continue 
it downwards till within five inches of the ground. 
Withdraw the knife, and cut off the stalk close to the 
ground. The plant is now cut. Lay it on the ground 
with the lower end towards the sun. The plant-s 
should be placed iir rows as they iire cut, in order to 
facihtate the labor of gathering them. There is one 
caution to be heeded in cutting tobacco, and lliat is 
do not let it be burnt or blistered by the heat of th 
sun. In some varieties of tobacco this will be effect- 
ed in one hour ; in others, not so soon. But this dan- 
ger can be evaded in two ways : first, by cutting late 
in the evening ; second, by throwing it in the shade, 
or covering it so as to weaken the power of the sun. 
Some varieties of tobacco will wilt (that is, become soft 
or limber) in two hours ; others, in a longer time, ac- 
cording to the degree of sun-heat. Having cut the 
tobacco, and it being sufficiently wilted, the next step is 

Hanging. — The sticks to hang the plants on should 
be split of straight-grained timber — should be four 
and a half feet long, and at least one inch thick, and 
one inch wide. The splinters should be shaved off 
smoothly. The poles for the scaffold should be of 
sufficient length and strength ; the forks, or other sup- 
porters, must be tall enough to swing the plants six 
inches above the ground. These scaffolds can be 
erected around the fields, if small, or in it, if largo. 
Judgment must determine. 

The scaffolds erected, the sticks prepared, the to- 
bacco well wilted and placed in piles around the scaf- 
folds, the next business is to hang the plants on the 
sticks. To do this neatly and expeditiously, place one 
end of a stick on the outer end of one scaffold-pole, 
and the other end squarely across on the end of the 
adjoining pole, or any where else, to be convenient to 
receive the plants. Hang twelve plants on a stiol^ 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



2a 



and the same, or some uniform number, on every stick. 
To hang a plant, Uft it up with the right hand, and 
with the left divide the stalk through the split, having 
half the leaves on one side and half on the other. As 
the sticks are filled, place them on the poles of the 
scaffold, crowding them closely. Under the most 
favorable circumstances, all the plants of a crop will 
not ripen the same day, or even the same week. It 
often happens that three weeks intervene between the 
first and the last cutting. But whenever ripe, it must 
be cut, hung, and placed on the scaffold, or oti some 
other fixture, to dry out. This drymg is the first step 
5nthe process called curingitiie tobacco, which simply 
means to dry out all the juices of the plant. This can 
only be done by absorption, assimilation, and evapora- 
tion. The two former are natural processes ; the lat- 
ter can be effected by heat, and this heat must be from 
the sun or from ordinary fire. It is important, for 
many reasons, that this evaporation be as rapid as pos- 
sible. Left to the sun alone, it would require, in or- 
dinary seasons, at least three months. I have seen 
plants of ripe tobacco of a green color in January ; 
and I have seen wliole crops perfectly cured by fire in 
five days. The latter was the plan in Virginia, the 
fire being kept up night and day during that period. 
I have not used fire for that purpose since I came to 
this State, oeventeen years ago. But whether here or 
any where else, if large quantities of freshly cut to- 
bacco be stored in a close house, it will rot or mold 
during long sj)ells of warm, damp weather, if fire were 
not used Tobacco well ripened, and timely cut, in 
ordinary seasons, can be cured by the first of January, 
without fire, if suffered to remain on the scaffolds a 
week, and then placed in sheds with open ends and 
sides ; but the roofs should not leak. Rains will not 
injure it any time during the first eight or ten days 
after cutting, in any other way than by delaying the 
process of curing. It may be asked : " Are there any 
certain signs or indications to show when tobacco is 
perfectly cured ?" I think there are ; and with the 
exercise of a little judgment, there can be no mistake. 
There should not be the least greenness of color or 
scent about the stalk, the stem, or any portion of the 
leaf ; and the stems should be so brittle that they will 
snap short in bending them, in dry weather. With 
fire it can be put in such a condition in one week ; but 
without fire, in ordinary seasons, it will require till 
Christmas. But when it is in that condition it is cured. 
Tiie tobacco being cured, the next process is 

Stripping. — This consists of breaking the leaves 
from the stalks, and tying them into bundles, called 
" hai is" in this section. But in doing this we sliould 
not tie the leaves as we come to them. In all crops, 
and sometimes on the same plant, there are some long 
leaves, some short ones, (equally good in quality,) and 
Borne dusty, ragged, weather-beaten leaves. These 
grades or qualities should not be tied up in the same 
oundle. In stripping, the practice was, in Virginia, to 



let one person pull off all of the first grade, and tic it 
up ; another would take the same plants and pull off ell 
leaves of the second grade, and tie it; and another 
would pull off and tie up what was left on the plant: 
thus making three grades or qualities. These are re- 
hung separate!}', and prized in the hogsheads sepa- 
rately. This is evidently the proper plan to be followed 
every whei-e. 

Every day's stripping is placed on the same sticks 
again, and hung up out of the way of every thing. 
The bundles of the first grade contain twelve leaves; 
of the second, sixteen; and of the third, between 
twenty and thirty. 

After tobacco has begun to dry out, or cure, it can 
be handled only in moist weather. At any other time 
it will break and crumble more or less. In order to 
have it ready to strip at any time, the planter should 
select a spell of moist weather, and while the tobacco 
is in the right case, (as it is called in Virginia, and 
mean.s neither so dry as to break, nor so damp as to 
mold,) bulk down a considerable portion of his crop. 
Bulking Down. — Suppose he wishes to bulk down 
three hundred sticks, making three thousand six hun- 
dred plants. The tobacco being in the right " case," 
he selects a corner of his barn, or other building, and 
sweeps the floor clean. He then takes down the sticks, 
slips the plants off, and places them, straight and 
compact, in one corner of the room, about one foot 
from either wall, buts outside. And so of another 
stick by the side of the first, keeping the course par» 
allel with the wall ; and when one course is completed, 
lay down another with the buts on the opposite side. 
Let the length and number of these courses be such, 
that the bulk, when completed, will be about three 
feet high. This done, lay the tobacco-sticks on the 
bulk lengthwise, and cover over with hay or fodder, 
pressing it tightly between the wall and the bulk. If 
this is done rightly, the tobacco will remain in strip- 
ping case for years. Suppose your whole crop is 
stripped and re-hung, which ought to be done by the 
first of March. Let it hang until about the first of 
April ; then take it down in the proper prizing case, 
and bulk it away as before. The prizing case for the 
first and second grades is the same as for stripping ; 
but for the first grade it must be decidedly drier. 

Preparing for Market. — The crop is now ready to 
prize for market. Parcels less than one thousand five 
hundred pounds may be carried to market almost in any 
way ; but more than that should be prized in hogsheads. 
Several farmers might combine their crops for prizing. 
As to the size, form, and materials of the hogsheads. 
In Virginia, the size of the hogsheads is prescribed by 
law. They must be made of seasoned pine or poplar. 
They must be four feet six inches long; three feet six 
inches in diameter, at one end, and three feet four 
inches at the other. This difference of diameter is to 
allow the tobacco to be inspected. This may be some- 
thing new to persons of the North, therefore I will 



26 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



explain tbe mode of inspecting tobacco in the hogs- 
head. An inspector is appointed by law to inspect or 
examine the tobacco prized in hogsheads. His first 
step 13, to place the hogshead big end upward. He 
then removes the lining, and takes out the head. He 
ucxt inverts the position of the hogshead, that is, puts 
the little end up, and raises it entirely from the to- 
bacco- The mass of prized tobacco stands before 
him without a covering. The outside may be all 
right, but his sworn duty is to examine it through and 
through, as well as round and round. For this pur- 
pose he drives an iron bar to the middle, near the top 
of the mass, pries up and takes out a handful of bun- 
dles. He repeats that operation on two other points 
of the mass. He then inspects or examines the par- 
cels extracted, and rates the whole hogshead according 
to their quality. The hogshead is replaced and made 
secure. The hogsheads and the samples taken from 
them bear corresponding marks, and the former is 
Bold by the latter. 

The staves of the hogshead must not be wider than 
five, nor narrower than three inches, five eighths of 
an inch thick, and dressed on the inside. The head- 
ing must be seasoned pine or poplar, and one inch 
thick, with eight hoops. Such a hogshead will well 
answer in other States as well as in Virginia. 

Prizing. — Weigh out, say three hundred pounds. 



It takes two hands to do this work, one inside tb« 

hogshead and the other out. One is called the packer, 
the other the waiter. The packer so arranges the 
bundles, in placing them, as to make four courses in 
one layer. Repeat the layers until the three hundred 
pounds are packed. The weight (lever-power) is then 
applied. After six hours, put in two hundred pounda 
more and apply the weight. Six hours, and so on, 
until one thousand three hundred or one thousand five 
hundred pounds have been put in. The softer tba 
tobacco, the more of it can be put in a hogshead. 

If the tobacco is of the first quality, fifteen hundred 
pounds is enough. But if lower qualities, eighteen 
hundred pounds can be put in. The finer the quality 
the less vs'eight it can bear without injury ; and vice 
versa. Having prized the crop, it is ready for market. 

I think tobacco is decidedly the most profitable crop 
raised in tlie Western and Northern States. For in- 
stance, an acre of suitable land, planted in time, with 
good plants, and promptly attended in its subsequent 
management, will yield a thousand pounds, which, at 
$4 per hundred, would be $40; at $10 per hundred 
$100. The article is now selling by the hogshead in 
Louisville, Ky., at more than $30 per hundred. When 
the tobacco market opens in May, I have no doubt it 
will be much higher. Its cultivation id extending 
most rapidly in Ohio. 



No. VII -BY J. H. NORTON, ONONDAGA COUNTY, N. Y. 



The grand requisites for the successful cultivation 
of tobacco may be sununed up as follows : first, good 
arable land, plenty of fertilizing materials, buildings 
for curing and storing the crop, and a good share of 
patience and assiduity in the grower. 

Seed-Bkd. — A rich loam is the best soil for to- 
bacco-plants ; select a spot for a bed on the south 
side of a gentle elevation — a warm spot — as much 
sheltered from the winds as possible ; make the bed 
mellow by spading deep, burn a brush-heap upon it, 
and carefully remove every sod, root, stick, or stone, 
then rake evenly and carefully. Mix one gill of seed 
for every ten square yards with a quart or so of clean 
ashes or plaster, then sow as gardeners sow small 
seeds, and tramp, where sown, with the feet, or roll 
Witt a roller. The bed should be made rich with 
manure, and sown as early in the spring as the ground 
can be wonted. The ground, however, must be in 
good condition — not too moist, and be well prepared. 

Keep the weeds from growing by careful weeding, 
dEuly, after the plants are up ; a little liquid manure 
then applied once a week will be of much benefit to 
them, increasing their growth and vigor very much. 

The plants should not stand too thick in the bed, 
not more than an inch, to half an inch apart ; if they 
are too thick the; should be raked with an iron 



rake after the plants are about the bigness of a five- 
cent piece. The rake suitable for such a purpose 
should be a common rake, with teeth about three 
inches long, slightly curved at the points, teeth flat, 
and about a quarter or three eighths of an inch wide, 
and half an inch apart. 

Good, strong corn-land is the soil best adapted foi 
tobacco-growing — not flat, but undulating. New land 
is preferable to old. The land should be very richly 
manured with good, strong, well-rotted manure — ashea 
also used will benefit the crop materially. ■ 

The ground should be well plowed and pulverized 
fine by well harrowing or cultivating, and then be 
marked as for corn in rows from three to three and a 
half feet apart each way. At each angle formed bj 
the markings a sort of hill should be formed and 
patted with the hoe once, so as to form a bod for the 
plant which is to be set. 

After the ground is thus prepared, after the first 
fine rain, the plants (the leaves of which shculd bo 
about the size of a quarter of a dollar) should be 
removed from the bed, taking great care not to mash 
or bruise them while taking them up. 

Setting Out. — Proceed to planting, which is done 
in the following manner: a boy with a basket cf 
plants first goes over tne ground, dropping a plairt 



EXPERIENCE OF PEACTICAL GKOWEKS. 



2'i 



upon each hill formed at the cross-sections of the 
markings; the "setter" following, takes the plant 
dropped upon the hill in his left hand, while with the 
forelinger of hia right hand he makes a hole in the 
ground ; he then places the root in the hole with his 
left, pinching up the dirt to it on each side with the 
fingers of the right hand, taking cai'e to close the dirt 
well about the bottom of the root, also being careful 
that the roots are not bunt up, nor set too deep. A 
stick or dibble is sometimes used instead of the finger 
for making the holes ; in that case care must be taken 
lest the holes be too deep. A good hand will set ten 
thousand plants per day. 

Cultivation. — Within a week after setting, the 
hoe should be passed through the rows, the hard 
crust next the plants removed, and the weeds cut ; 
a little plaster and ashes mixed in equal proportions 
may also be put upon each hill, say a gill to each. 
From this time until the plants get so large that a cul- 
tivator can not pass between the rows without injur- 
mg the plants, the ground should be cultivated often 
enough to keep the ground mellow and free from 
weeds. Cultivating is a delicate operation, requiring 
a skillful plowman and a steady horse, else many 
of the plants will be knocked over or killed by the 
operation. After the plants are become too large to 
be cultivated without injury, they should be well Itoed^ 
cutting the weeds, leveling the furrows made by the 
cultivator, and drawing a little earth to the plants 
when required, and it will need no more working. 

Saving Seed. — When the plants blossom, the best 
should be saved for seed, fifty plants being enough 
for seed to sow a crop of thirty thousand pounds, 
or a gill being enough to set four acres of land. All 
the rest should be top[)ed when the bud is fairly: formed. 

Topping. — Great judgment is required in this ope- 
ration. If the plant is sturdy and strong, the top may 
be taken off at the eighth leaf from the root ; if not 
80 strong, the top must be taken off lower down ; 
with new beginners the leaves look too good, and do 
not top low enough, and as a consequence have 
poor tobacco ; the top when broken off should be 
thrown between the rows, and suffered to decay. 

Within about two weeks from topping, the crop is 
generally fit for cutting, yet it is not hurt by standing 
longer in the field. From this time until the tobacco 
is housed, the grower experiences much vexation ; 
storms and frosts may came and destroy the crop. 

Worms, the worst enemy of the planter, come in 
crowds ; as fast as they come they should be pulled 
off, and killed, else they will ruin the crop. A flock 
of turkeys are of invaluable assistance in destroying 
these insects, which they seem to do for the '' fun of 
it ;" twice in the season these worms appear, and the 
only proper way to get rid of them is le begin in 
time, and with plenty of help go over the whole field, 
plant cy plant, breaking up nests, killing s^-ch worms 



as may oe found, and doing so morning and evening 
until they finally disajipear. 

SucKEUiNu. — The plants should also be "suckered.'' 
Suckers spring out in great numbers just where th» 
leaves join with the stalk. "Suckering" is done bj 
pinching these off close to the stalk when they reach 
about the enf,th of three or four inches ; just beforo 
cutting it would be well to sucker again, for if any 
are left on the stalk they will grow to great lengths, 
even after the plant has been hurg up for curing. 

Cutting and Hanging. — When the plant begins to 
yellow or turn spotted, it is time to put it away. It is 
cut off close to the ground, turning up the leaves, 
and cutting off close to the roots, by a single stroke 
of a hatchet, or tobacco-knife, made of an old scythe, 
such as are used in cutting up corn. After cutting, 
let it lie on the ground a short time to wilt, when it 
may be handled without danger of tearing the leaves ; 
it is then to be taken to the house to be "hung." 

The hanging should be begun on the upper tier of 
poles, to where the tobacco is elevated by means of 
a platform and pulley, or it may be passed by boys 
from tier to tier, to its locality for hanging. 




"hangei-" stands in an erect position, having for a 
a foothold the poles on the tier below the one which 
he is hanging; he has a ball of tobacco-twine (a twine 
made of flax, procurable at any seed-store) which for 
convenience is carried in the bosom of the loose blouse 
generally worn ; he stands wilh the left side to the 
pole on which the tobacco is to be hung, left arm 
over it ; the stalk of tobacco is handed to him by a 
boy whose duty it is to pass it to him ; the stalk is 
then taken in the left hand and placed against the 
side of the pole, the but projecting an inch or two, 
around which projection the twine is wound from left 
to right, (the twine having previously been fastened 
to the pole ;) the next stalk is placed on the other side 
of the pole, just far enough along so that the leaves 
of the two stalks will not touch and pole-hum, and 
so continue, the stalks being hung alternately on the 
sides of the pole, as seen in the above cut. 

After the house is filled, some put fires under the 
crop to hasten its drying, but it is foimd by experi- 
ence that the practice is not a good one. 

Stripping. — After the tobacco has become dry and 
well cured, the stem of the leaf being free from sap, 
the fir-it damp spell of weather it will become soh 



28 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



and pliaut; tlieu t should be taken down and strip- 
ped from tlie stalk. Stripping should be done as soon 
as possible after the leaf is cured, as the freezing cold 
of winter may be followed closely by balmy days ; 
and as every mild day causes the stalk to exude juices 
which discolor the leaf, it is patent that the earlier the 
tobacco is stripped the better it is. 

Stripping is done by holding the but of the stalk 
In the right hand, so that the different qualities of 
leaf may be seen, and then with the left hand strip- 
ping the leaves from the stalk, keeping the leaves 
held in the hand until about one third or one half 
of a pound is thus held. Then wind a leaf about the 
upper portion of the bundle for about three or four 
inches of its length, tucking the end of the leaf iu 
the middle of the bundle to confine it. These bun- 
dles are called " hands." While stripping, the tobacco 
should be divided into three qualities, respectively, 
"first," "second," and ''fat," keeping each quality in 
"hands" by itself. First quality tobacco is that com- 
posed of the best leaves, being those that are not torn 
and are not discolored. Second quality is that which 
is or may have been discolored or torn in handling. 
Fat tobacco is that which remains in a wet, sodden 
state, even after the stems of the large first quality 
leaves have become dry and brittle, being of a' dark 
color — almost black — it is the top leaves of the stalk, 
which had yet not become ripened. With proper 
cultivation, the grower need not be bothered with this 
almost worthless quality. 

Bulking. — As fast as stripped, the hands should be 
Lud in piles, the dift'erent qualities by themselves ; the 
piles should be formed in double rows, the leaves 
being straightened before laid down, the buts of the 
" hands" being outside, the points nearly meeting. 

When the piles are carried to a convenient hight, 
say three or four feet, heavy planks with weights may 
be laid upon the rows, to keep them in place, and to 
form a more compact body and assist in the future 
packing. Here let me say that all the hands that 
were too damp or soft should be exposed to the sun 
for a few hours, or else subjected to the action of a 
fire to dry them, before placing them in the bulk. 
All the ^^ fat" tobacco must be treated in this way 
before laid in the pile. 

While in the "bulk," as we must now call the piled 
tobacco, much care must be taken lest the pile heats ; 
if the slightest warmth is perceptible, the pile must 
be overhauled and re-bulked in piles of less hight, 
without weights upon the top ; but generally the to- 
bacco will " condition" for packing in a short time, 
when it will ^emain without packing without much 
Injury, in the same shape for a long time. If it is 
uol convenient to pack, however, the tobacco had 
better be "re-bulked" in piles of greater hight, and 
pressed with heavy weights. 

Packing. — In order to pack tobacco, a little ma- 
chinery is requi'-ed, as heavy pressure must be brought 



to bear upon the crop in order to get a reasonabk 
quantity in a box — for all practical purposes, a lever 
formed of a scantling properly arranged, or better 
yet, a screw, such as are used for cider-presses or to 
raise buildings, is all that is required. 

The size for boxes differ, but the best size is the 
following: three feet six inches long, two feet foui 
inches wide, two feet six inches in depth, manufac- 
tured from planed pine boards, one inch iu thickness, 
with standards two inches square, inside at each cor- 
ner to nail to. 

Having thus your boxes prepared, and the tobacco 
in good condition, the first soft, mild day that comes 
proceed to packing; the bundles or "hands" of to- 
bacco must be taken from the bulk and laid in courses 
in the box, laying the buts of the " hands " to the 
outside of the box, allowing the ends to lap over 
each other, and endeavoring to keep the center of 
the box a little higher than the edges — these courses 
to be packed as solid as possible by the hand. 

If any of the bundles are soft or have an ill smell, 
they must be exposed to the fire or sun until sweet 
and dry before being packed. 

When the box is nearly full, a false cover (just 
large enough to slip inside the box) must be placed 
on the tobacco, and pressed as heavily as possible 
with the lever or screw power ; remove the pressure 
and re-fill, pressure finally being applied to the reai 
cover, which may then be tacked down. 

A box of the size I have mentioned, when filled, 
should contain about four hundred pounds of tobacco, 
and thus packed, will keep for years. 

This concludes the labor of preparing this beauti- 
ful crop for market. Marketing here has, until of 
late, been done through commission-houses in New- 
York ; but our crop has so increased in amount that 
buyers and speculators have thronged the tobacco- 
houses here during the past season of stripping. 




Tobacco-House. 

Houses. — A building twenty-four feet square, and 
seventeen feet high, exclusive of foundation-wall, is 
of sufficient capacity to store the growth of one acre 
of tobacco. 

The common size of tobacco-houses built with us 
is about one hundred feet long, by twenty-four feet 
wide, posts seventeen feet long, and are built upon a 
wall eighteen inches high ; the buildings are framed 
with girths from bent to bent, for boarding up au<J 
down, the bents being twelve feet apart. 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



29 



The boards for closing up the outside should be a 
foot wide, and at intervals of about five feet a board 
should be hung with light strap-hinges, to serve as a 
ventilator to admit light and dry air, and to exclude 
wet and dampness, which materially damages the to- 
bacco in color, etc. These ventilators or doors must 
be closed on frosty nights, but in fair, dry weather 
should be kept open. 




View of a bent of the tobacco-bam, 24 feet wide and 17 feet liigh, 
at the sides. 

The tobacco-poles, the ends of which rest upon the 
Dents, should be about thirteen feet long, two inches 
thick, by six inches wide, of some light timber — elm 
or basswood is used here — and when hung with to- 
bacco should be from eight to ten inches apart. 

A large door should be placed at either end for in- 
gress and egress. 

The poles, of which there should be four tiers, are 



laid from bent to bent, resting the ends of the cross- 
beams in the bent, tiers four feet four inches apart. 
Such is the method of planting, raising, securing, and 
fitting for market the tobacco-crop, as practiced by 
our most successful tobacco-growers. We have per- 
sonally assisted in the various departments, and know 
from experience and personal observation that th« 
Onondaga county tobacco-grower is as successful a to- 
bacco-grower as any in Maryland or old Virginia. Two 
years ago we were down South, and witnessed the 
modes of planting and raising tobacco as practiced in 
Maryland ; we found that the old practice of " split- 
ting," " spearing," and " pegging" were yet in vogue, 
resulting in great delay in hanging the tobacco, other- 
wise the culture and cure are similar to that practiced 
here. 

The raising of tobacco in many parts of Onondaga 
county is a grand success. Many of our tobacco- 
growers have raised the past year, notwithstanding 
the severe drought, over one ton to the acre, and the 
average for the pa.st season is full one ton to the acre. 
The cost of raising the same is not more than forty 
dollars per acre. The crop has been bought up by 
speculators and tobacconists, at prices ranging from 
fourteeen to seventeen cents per pound, making a net 
profit to the grower of two hundred and sixty dollars 
to the acre. 

The tobacco grown here is known as the Connecti- 
cut seed-leaf, and is relied upon for the main crop. 
Other varieties are grown. The Spanish Long Leaf and 
the Yard leaf are good varieties, and the large grow- 
er will not fail to plant some of his ground to the nu- 
merous varieties. 



No. VIII.-BY D. M. HUDSON, HIGHLAND COUNTY, IND. 



Seeds and Seed-Bed. — Secure good seed, that will 
be sure to grow. The variety is not so essential. 
The Connecticut seed-leaf, or the Golden leaf for 
segars, and the Cuba or Mason county for chewing, 
are good varieties. 

The seed should be sown the latter part of March, 
in a bed first prepared by thorough burning, to de- 
stroy all seeds of weeds which may be in the ground. 
It also enriches the soil with the very element most 
essential to the growth of the plant, to wit, potash ; 
and thereby makes the plants earlier and more thrifty. 

The bed should be sheltered from beating rains, 
and also partially from the sun ; as this gives the 
plants a longer stem, and enable'^ *t^m to stand trans- 
planting better by having the roots placed further in 
the ground. The site for the bed should be selected 
in as warm a situation as possible. After burning, 
mix the ashes and the soil thoroughly with a rake or 
hoe to the depth of three or four inches ; after which 
the seed may be sown — taking great care not to sow 



too thickly. A large-sized tliimbleful is enough to 
sow a bed four feet square, which will produce planta 
enough to plant an acre. Stock should not be allowed 
to tramp the beds ; and if weeds come in them, they 
should be pulled out. 

The Preparation of the Ground. — Select dry 
upland, the richer the better. First give it a good 
coat of stable-manure, with as much ashes as conve- 
nient, which sliould be plowed under in March ; the 
deeper the better. Subsoiling will not hurt it. Sur- 
face-plow the ground again the last of May, throwing 
into ridges three and a half feet apart for transplanting. 

Take up the plants with a small lump of dirt to 
each, and plant three feet apart on the ridges while the 
ground is moist or wet. It may be done when the ground 
is dry, if the plants be watered immediately afterward. 

The tobacco should be well cultivated while small. 
This may be done with the plow and the hoe, until the 
leaves are too large for plowing ; after which it muBt 
bo done exclusively with the hoe. 



no 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



Worms. — About the first to the fifteenth of July the 
worms will make their appearance. Have ready an 
over-gown, made after the fashion of a shirt, extend- 
ing to the knees or below, which will keep the gum 
off the clothes. A pair of gloves also will be handy 
and save a great deal of hard 
wasliing to keep the hands 
clean. — From the time the 
worms begin, until it is har- 
vested, it will be necessary to 
look It over carefully twice a 
week, perhaps oftencr, and kill 
all the worms that can be found. 
Also destroy the eggs, which 
will generally be found on the 
under side of the leaf and near 
the edge. And, when possible, 
kill the flies that lay the eggs. They are about half 
an large as a humming-bird ; they will be seen flying 
through the tobacco, from plant to plant, about sun- 
down. 

Topping. — The tobacco should be topped as soon 
as possible, and not allowed to run up to unnecessary 
bight. As soon as a sufficient number of leaves can 
be counted, large and small, the small leaves at the 
top should be carefully parted and the bud pinched 
out, leaving the required nnmber. At the first top- 
ping, leave twelve leaves, and two less each successive 
week thereafter, until all is topped. Great care is ne- 
Cfssary that tlie small leaves at the top be not injured 
or broken while topping. The lower leaves should not 
be pulled off, as is often done. They will sell for half- 
price, and they do not injure the plant .as much as the 
wound left by pulling them off. 

SucKF.RiNG. — Soon after the tobacco is topped, 
sprouts will start at all parts of the stalk. Care is 
necessary that these be all pulled off; and to keep 
them off well, it will be best to look it over two or three 
times every week. This and worming will occupy the 
time until it is ready for harvesting; and on the 
attention paid this part of the work ivill depend, in a 
g;'eat measure, the quanfiti/ and quaUty of the tohacco. 
The ground should be kept in good order by an occa- 
sional hoeing. 

Cutting and Hanging. — Before the tobacco is ready 
for harvesting, there should be prepared a supply of 
sticks for hanging. Sticks four feet long and an inch 
square are most convenient. Twelve sticks to every 
hundred plants will be sufficient. 

For sun-curing, there should be a shed built at one 
or more convenient points of the patch. This may be 
done by placing posts in the ground to support the 
poles, as represented in the engraving. The poles a a 
being for the support of the smaller poles, c c, etc., 
upon which the tobacco-sticks are placed, and h b for 
the cover, when necessary that it should be shedded. 

Every thirsg being ready, the tobacco should be cut 
u Bocn as it is sufficiently ripe. This can be told bv 



the color. The leaf will change from a green c-olor tc 
a pale yellow, with spots. Or it can be tried by taking 
the leaf doubled between the fingers ; if ripe, it will 
break readily. When ripe, split the Stalk from tlio 
I top to within six inches of the ground and cut it ofi". 




It should now he left on the ground till well wilted ; 
(though if the sun be hot it should be closely watched 
or it will burn ;) after which, it may be taken to the 
shed and hung — the stalks being placed on the sticks, 
six inches apart, and the sticks on the scafifold, as close 
as convenient. 

Now, while curing, it demands close attention. It 
may remain in the position in which it was hung for a 
few days — until it begins to turn a light yellow ; after 
which it should be frequently handled — exposing one 
side to the sun a few days, and then the other, alter- 
nately. It should wow be parted also, so as to admit 
the rays of the sun arid the air freely through it. It is 
best to shed it from rains and heavy dews, but expose 
it at all other times. The sun zcill not hurt it. 

As soon as it is well cured, the stem of the leaf next 
the stalk will break, if strained while dry ; when the 
tobacco may be taken off of the sticks, (while in pro- 
per case,) and bulked down in a damp situation — a 
dry cellar is suitable. It should be bulked while iji as 
loji: case as convenient, if it will be.ar handling without 
breaking. //" in too high case, it will be liable to mold. 
If properly bulked, with the tops of the stalks in the 
center, and then well covered to exclude the air, it 
will remain in case as long as desired, and may be 
handled when convenient. 

/' To prepare for market, the leaves are stripped from 
the stalk and assorted into three classes, (though it is 
customary to sell in some markets without dividing.) 
The upper and middle leaves, when of a good quality 
and of a bright yellow cure, constituting the first rate ; 
the same leaves, when inferior, the second rale; and 
the ground-leaves the third rate. Several years ago 
the dark tobacco was preferable, owing to its gi-eater 
strength, when it was customary to bulk while curing, 
to change the color; but now, the light yellow finds 
the readier sale. When assorted, it is tied up in ties' 
of seven to ten leaves each ; keeping each class sep- 
arate. 

It is now ready to be pressed into the hogshead. 
For this purpose a hole may be morticed in a tree, in 



KXPKRIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



81 




which the end of a lever is inserted — passing over 
the hogshead and working by a tree or post, in which 



ahunld bo pins at intervals of eight or ten .ncliea, by 
which a small lever may be nsed to force the first 
lever down on the tobacco. Fifty to a hundred pounda 
may be placed in the hogshead and firmly pressed <» 
few hours, and as much added again, and =o on. 

The accompanying figure will serve to represent the 
manner in which the hands (or tics) may be placed in 
the hogshead — filling the middle first, then the outer 
edgi-s — placing the tops toward the center, and the 
buts in the direction of a a, for the first layer. The 
second will be placed the same, only the huts will be in 
the position of 6 6, the third at c c, etc., observing 
to keep the center and edges full. 

In conclusion, the two most ci^sentJal items m 
tobacco-cultnre are, ,fi>'fit, « (/ood bodi/, and si'condly, a 
good bright cure. The first is secured by rich ground 
ivith plenty of manure. The second by free exposure 
to the sun and air, and exclusion from rain and damy 
weather. 



Ho. IX.-BY PERRY N. HULL, LITCHFIELD COUNTY, CONN. 



The cultivator of tobacco needs, 1st. A rich, warm, 
finely pulverized soil ; 2d. Strong early plants. The 
failure to obtain either of these at the outset, will very 
seriously endanger the s'.iccess of the crop. Here in 
Connecticut, it usually reqnirert the whole season for 
the crop to arrive^ at the proper state of maturity, 
without which its value is greatly diminished. Even 
though harvested no more than one week before ma- 
'tiirity, the danger while curing is greatly increased, 
and if, through very favorable weather, the tobacco 
escapes total ruin by pole-burn, its value will still be 
diminished one fourth by bad colors, etc. 

Seed-Bkds.— Select a light garden soil, in a location 
sheltered from north winds, but exposed to the sun 
fi'om morning until evening, and prepare in October. 
The best manure for plant-beds is that taken from the 
hog-pen, kept in a heap through the summer, and oc- 
casionally cut over with a shovel, that it may be thor- 
oughly rotted. Such manure contains fewer weed- 
seeds than almost any other, and its fertilizing quali- 
ties can not be surpassed. This should be generously 
applied — say scatter the ground over one, or one and 
one half inches deep, and thoroughly spade in, in the 
month indicated. The seed should be selected from 
an early, strong growing plant, which should, after 
ripening, be cut up and hung in a dry place, top down- 
wards ; the seed, if out of the reach of mice, keeping 
in this way much better and safer than if picked and 
shelled. 

Varieties. — There are almost as many varieties of 
seed-leaf tobacco as there are of Indian corn — the dif- 
terer ce not always noticed by the inexperienced, but 
very readily by the experienced cultivator. In my 
opinion, the variety best adapted to our purpose, is 



that known in this State as the Bull Tongue. The 
leaf is neither too long nor too short, the length and 
width being in such good proportion that manufac- 
turers consider there is less waste than there is to a 
very long, narrow leaf, or a very broad, short leaf. It 
yields well, and ripens at least one week earlier than 
m.any of the broader vai'ioties. Almost any of the 
seed-leaf varieties will do well ; but never patronize 
any of the humbugs sent from the Patent-Office, under 
the name of Graham Tobacco, Maryland Broad-Leaf, 
etc. They are a Southern tobacco, and when grown 
upon that soil, make chewing-tobacco ; but here it is 
good for nothing for that purpose, and is too coarse 
for segar-wrappers. 

Many are too anxious in the spring to get their seed 
into the ground, to be successful in getting good 
plants ; as often, after waiting two or three weeks for 
the plants to come up, they have to make a second 
sowing, thereby putting them back a week or more 
Wait until the ground is dry, and warm enough for 
the seed to grow, instead of rotting. When this 
change has taken place in the soil, sprout the seed, 
instead of sowing dry, thus gaining at least ten days' 
time, and precluding the possibility of being disap- 
pointed in the first sowing. From the first to the 
middle of April, (being governed by the forwardness 
of warm weather,) procure some rotten wood, so rot- 
ten that it may be finely pulverized with the hand ; 
mix this with the seed, in about the proportion of ten 
parts of wood or dirt to one of seed. Mix them thor- 
oughly, and moisten with water slightly warmed, and 
repeat it as often as it dries up, and keep it in a warm 
room. The seed will usually get in the proper condi- 
tion for sowing in from four to six days, depending 



32 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



npon the tcmpeniture at which it is kept. The seed 
is sprouted sufficiently, whenever, upon disturbing the 
dirt, it looks silvery inside. 

The beds should be well worked over with the fork 
or spade and i-ake. If the soil is inclined to be moist, 
raise the beds well ; if dry, raise them less. They 
should be only about three feet wide, to facilitate 
weeding. After making the top of the beds perfectly 
smooth and fine, sow the seed, first mixing enough 
ground plaster to thoroughly dry the seed and prevent 
them from falling in bunches. The quantity of seed 
sown should be about one half a table-spoonful to 
thirty-six or forty square feet of ground. Do not rake 
in the seed, but procure a smooth board, lay it on the 
bed, and with the feet stamp the beds quite hard. 
The ground should never be allowed to freeze after 
sowing the seed ; to prevent this, and also for another 
purpose, which will soon be apparent, construct a 
straw mat, like that represented in the engraving. 





'■^^ 



These I decidedly prefer to those described in 
the February Agriculturist, being much lighter to 
handle, more easily made, and sufficiently strong 
to last one season, which is all that could be ex- 
pected of the other. They are made by laying a 
ecantling (six feet long, one and a half inches wide, 
three fourths of an inch thick) upon the barn 
floor ; place a layer of good straight rye-straw upon 
it, so that the scantling will come about in the middle 
of the straw, then another layer with the tips the other 
way, that it may be of uniform thickness in all its 
parts, (about one and a half inches thick.) Place a 
similar scantling exactly over it, and with sixpenny nails, 
nail them tight ; with an ax trim both edges straight, 
and to a width of three feet, and the mat is made. 
AVith these the beds should be covered every nighty 
cold or warm ; in the day-time they should be set up 
at the north side of the bed, at an angle of about sixty- 
five degrees, by driving crotches just inside of the 
bed, for the end of the scantling to rest in, the lower 
edge of the mat resting on the ground, outside the bed. 
The plants, as soon as they are out of the ground, 
which will be in a few days, require strict attention. 
The beds should be made high enough, so that in fair 
weather a little water can be applied every night. Af- 
ter the fourth leaf appears, manure-water should be 
used. Place an old barrel near the beds, and throw 
into it one half-bushel of hen-manure, and fill with 
water ; after it is well soaked, use one half-pailful of 
It, and fill up with clear water with the chill taken off. 



As the plants get larger, the strength of the decoction 
can be increased, being careful that it is not so strong 
as to turn the plants yellow. As soon as the plants 
are large enough to be readily taken hold of by tho 
thumb and point of a knife, they should be thinned to 
about one hundred and forty-four per square foot, and 
kept free from weeds. This plan is decidedly prefer- 
able to raising under glass. It is less expensive, th« 
plants are more hardy to plant out in the field, are got 
full as early, and a little carelessness in a hot day will 
not ruin the whole. It has been my method 'for the 
past eight years, and during that time I have never 
failed to have good, strong plants ready for the field 
from the fifth to the tenth of June. 

Preparation of the Soil. — Tobacco requires a 
light, rich soil, in a locality not exposed to early frosts. 
If the soil is not naturally rich enough, it mu.st be 
made so by a generous application of manure ; and he. 
who is unwilling to " feed his barn-yard," and spend 
both money and time to increase the manure-heap, 
had better not attempt the cultivation of tobacco — at 
least not largely. It has been, and still is the practice 
of many farmers in the Connecticut valley, and to some 
extent here in the Housatonic valley, to plant one and 
the same piece of land with tobacco year after year for 
an indefinite period, because, as they say : "Tobacco 
impoverishes the suii, and they confine it to a single 
. piece, rather than have its injurious eflects upon all 
parts of the farm." It seems as if almost any practi- 
cal farmer would discover the fallacy of such reason- 
ing, for these same fiirmers carry alK or nearly all their 
manure, upon this one piece, year after year, leaving 
the remaining part of the farm to take care of itself 
as best it may, which in my opinion is the surest waj 
to impoverish a farm which a farmer could take. Be- 
sides, it will take almost as much again manure per 
acre to raise a crop in this way, as it will where tobac- 
co is grown as one in a rotation of cropp and a new 
piece of land taken for it every year. This was the 
idea that I started with when I commenced growing 
tobacco, ten years ago. I have cultivated from four 
to six acres yearly ever since, without ever more than 
once or twice planting the same piece of land two 
years in succession. This distributes the manure over 
a great portion of the farm, thus keeping the whole in 
a good state of cultivation. 

The turf should be turned over in September or 
first of October, only three or four inches deep, plow- 
ing the manure in with it, which should be well rotted 
by being kept over the summer, under the sheds and 
barns, or, which is better yet, in a heap in the field, 
composted with swamp-muck. In the month of May, 
the field should be worked over with the plow and 
harrow, until thoroughly pulverized. If there have 
been from twenty to forty loads of manure applied to 
the acre, according to the natural condition of tne 
soil, no further manui'ing will be necessary ; the hills 
can be made with a hoe, and the field be ready to re- 
ceive the plants. If some special fertilizer is to be 



EXPERIENCE OP PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



3S 



used, luy method is tbi3 : take a hcse-plow and mark 
out the rows, three feet four inches apart, making a 
shallow furrow, say two inches deep ; scatter the ma- 
nure, if guano, two hundri^d pounds to the acre — if 
superphosphate of lime, three hundred and fifty pounds 
per aore — evenly the whole length of the furrows ; 
then make the hills with a hoe, from two feet to two 
feet six inches apart, raising them somewhat above 
the level of the ground, at the same time covering the 
intervening part of the furrow. The object of thus 
scattering the fertilizer, instead of dropping it all im- 
mediately in the hill, is this, that the roots, reaching 
it griidually, its effects will be felt throughout the 
whole season ; whereas, if it is all dropped in tlie hill, 
its power would soon be spent. I am aware that some 
practice and recommend ridging ground before plant- 
ing out, but I consider the above practice better for 
this reason : where tlie ground is thrown into ridges 
beforehand, a plow can not be used in tlie after-culti- 
vation, or it will leave the ridges too high ; conse- 
quently the cultivation must all be done with the hoe, 
which, I believe, is the practice of those who ridge. 
On the other hand, a light plowing at each hoeing 
greatly reduces the labor, and also raises the ridges 
to a sufficient hight. All this preparation should be 
accomplished just before the plants attain sufficient 
size, that there may be no hindrances, and all hands 
nay be engaged in 

Planting Out. — When wet, lowery weather comes, 
from the first to the.middle of June, take the plants 
carefully from the beds with a garden-trowel, digging 
deep enough to secure all the roots, and transfer them 
carefully to the field. In planting them, see that 
every man puts the roots well into the ground, and 
leaves a little disk arourid each plant, to hold a 
half-pint of water, in case dry, hot weather follows. 
In many seasons we do not get the wet weather, but 
it is not best to delay later than tlic twelfth or fifteenth 
of June. One wagon or cart-load of burdock leaves, 
or brakes, will nearly cover the plants upon an acre, 
and I have often thought that plants put out in dry, 
hot weather, watered and lightly covered from the sun 
for a few days, started to grow sooner and better than 
those set out in wet weather, and not covered. When 
the field is once planted, it needs but little care for a 
while, unless the black corn-worm attacks it ; in that 
case — and they are too plenty — it is best to catch 
them off, and often reset, or fill out the field, that the 
plants may start as near alike, and the field be as even 
as possible. It should be hoed as often as necessary, 
until all weeds are thoroughly subdued. 

Worms. — The tobacco-worm usually makes its ap- 
pearance about the ft'st of August. Our tobacco being 
raised for wrappers to segars, the necessity for keep- 
ing the leaves as sound as possible, is at once scon : 
for no matter of how fine a texture a leaf may be, if 
badly eaten by the worms, it must go into the lower 
grades, and sell for a small price. After the worms 
3 



make their appearance, the tobacco should be gone 
through, as often as twice a week, and the worms de- 
stroyed, large and small. 

Topping. — The top or seed-bud, will generally make 
its appearance from the first to the tenth of August ; 
as soon as developed enough to be got hold of conve- 
niently, it must be pinched off. The exact point for 
topping, must be determined to a great extent by the 
cultivator. Some fields of tobacco will mature a plant 
of eighteen leaves, while others will not more than 
twelve ; depending upon how forward the crop is, and 
the strength of the ground. The above numbers are 
the two extremes, from fourteen to sixteen leaves are 
usually left to the stalk when topped from first to- 
fourth of August, from the fii\h to the tenth, leave 
from twelve to fourteen. 

Suckers. — After the top is taken off, the suckers ■ 
will start, one from the base of each leaf, those at the 
top making their appearance first, then downwards in 
succession. These must be taken off as fast as they 
get large enough to be got hold of, otherwise a great 
amount of growth is lost, and consequently the ma- 
turity of the plant retarded. As the plant approaches., 
maturity, great care should be exercised in goine. 
through, and handling, as the leaves are daily grow- 
ing brittle, and are liable to be broken off and torn by 
careless hands. Turn back to their natural position 
all leaves turned up by the wind, or the sun shining - 
upon the under-side of the leaf, will soon burn it, and 
very seriously injure the color. 

Harvesting the Crop. — This is an important sea- 
san, and generally commences about the first of Sep- 
tember. Before cutting any, see that the drying-sheds .- 
are fully prepared with poles and scaffolds ; the twine ■ 
examined for rotten places, etc. The best convenience ■ 
for transporting it from the field to the shed, is the • 
simplest. If a cart is to be used, remove the body, 
fijid with two poles, construct one without sides, only 
bottom and ends. If horses are to be used, use 
trucks, the wheels of which will be entirely out of 
the way. With either of these, the plants can be 
loaded crosswise with the butts out, and tips lapping •; 
in the middle ; being careful in loading to lay a tier • 
across one side, then the other, regularly, that it may 
be taken off without any pulling or tearing of the - 
leaves. In this way four or five hundred plants mav 
be carried at a load. 

A very little experience will teach one to determine 
the proper time for cutting. When about ripe, the 
color changes from a dark green to a spotted appear- 
ance ; the under side of the leaf, when pinched be- 
tween the thumb and finger, will crack ; the suckers 
commence to put out, below the bottom leaves, and 
the plant presents an entirely different appearance 
from what it previously did. There is decidedly less 
danger of tobacco getting too ripe than there is of its 
being cut too soon ; many a crop being seriously in- 
jured by being harvested before perfectly matura 



34 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



The plajit should never be cut while the dew is on the 
leaves ; but wait until it is off, say ten o'clock, and 
what tobacco is cut from that time until two o'clock, 
if the day is hot, will need close attention. In 
fihort, the whole operation, from cutting in the field, 
to the hanging upon the poles in the barn, needs care, 
as a little carelessness or inattention will damage many 
dollars' worth. No hand should be allowed to handle 
rt, who is unwilling to use care, and perform every 
operation just as directed, or else by breaking of 
leaves, or sticking fingers through them, etc., he may 
do more damage than his wages amount to. The 
plant to be cut should be taken by the left hand, not 
carelessly by the leaves, but carefully by the stalk, 
and as carefully leaned over, to give a chance to use 
the ax, which should have a handle about one foot 
long. Cut the plant with one blow, laying it carefully 
down, with the top to the sun ; if it is laid otherwise, 
the leaf will burn before the main stalk of the leaf 
will wilt sufficiently to admit of handling. Even in 
that position, it may burn unless attended to, but not 
as soon. After lying until pretty well wilted, and 
before burning, turn it over and wilt the other side. 
When so wilted that the main stem has lost most of 
its brittleness, load as explained above ; taking hold 
of the but of the stalk, lay them carefully upon the 
arm, and again as carefully upon the load. If the 
day'be very hot, use expedition in getting to the shed, 
else, if the distance be great, the load may heat, which 
will spoil the leaves for any thing but fillers 

When carried into the shed, if quite warm, they 
should b(^ h^ft only one plant deep upon the floor and 
scaffolds. If the day be cool, and they are to be hung 
up soon, they may lie much thicker. They should 
never be hung upon a pole le^s than five inches in 
width. If sawed pieces are used, saw them just that ; 
if poles are used, see that they are about that ; for if 
any thing of less width is used, the plants will hang 
80 close, that the chances of pole-hirn are greatly in- 
creased. They are fastened to the pole by a half 
hitch. [Their position is represented by Fig. on p. 27.] 

It requires two hands to hang them, one to hand 
them, another to tie them. The polos should be about 
eighteen inches apart, and the number hung upon 
a twelve-foot pole will depend upon the size, from 
twenty-four to thirty, so regulating them, that when 
thoroughly wilted, they will scarcely touch each other 
If hung thicker than this, a little unfavorable weather 
will cause more or less pole-burn, sweat and mould. 
After the tobacco is hung, the building should be so 
thoroughly ventilated that there will be a circulation 
of air through every part. The ventilators should be 
kept open during all fair weather, until well cured 
down. During storms, shut the doors and exclude as 
much vrct as possible ; being cautious to give it a 
thorough ventilation again, as soon as the rain ceases. 
When it is cured enough to be husky in dry weather, 
exclude all hard winds, that will crack and damage 



the leaves. When the leaves are so much cured, tha4 
there is nothing about them green but the stem, a 
moderate quantity of wet weather will not injure it, 
but rather improve the color ; as the sap of the stalk 
works through the stems into the leaves, during moist 
weather until the stalk has been well frozen ; after 
this takes place, the tobacco should be picked. 

Picking. — Tobacco, as a general thing, should not 
be picked until about December; at least not until 
ihcfat stems (main stems of the leaves, which are not 
thoroughly cured at the but-end) have mostly or all 
disappeared, which they will have done by that time, 
if the crop reached maturity before harvesting. The 
operations of picking and assorting are by many, who 
make only two classes or qualities of the tobacco, car- 
ried on at the same time. By far the preferable way 
is, especially if there is a very large crop to pick, to 
take off the leaves during uamp or wet weather, tie 
them into bundles of fifteen or twenty pounds, with 
twine, and pack it away into cellars, or wherever it 
can be kept without drying up. It can then be assort- 
ed in any kind of weather, thus gaining considerable 
time, as two will pick and tie up in this way as much 
during one wet spell as s?a; hands would, assorting and 
hanking up, at the same time. Another reason why 
the last practice is pieferable, is, that, by the former, 
the assorting can be but indifferently done ; whereas, 
by the last, it can be done as carefully as desired 
Tobacco should not be allowed to get too wet before 
picking ; in fact, should not be allowed to get wet at 
all, so as to feel v^d, only just damp enough to make 
the. leaves pliable, so as to handle and pack without 
breaking x>v feeling husky. If allowed to get wet, 
before picking, it is next to impossible to get it dried 
to the proper state again uniformly, so but that some 
of the leaves will still be too wet, while others will 
be dry enough to crack and break. So if the rains 
are long enough to get it too wet, which they often 
are, by all means let it remain upon the poles until 
the next wet spell. 

Assorting. — Tobacco, to sell well, should be assort- 
ed into three classes or grades. Wrappers, Seconds, 
and Fillers. The wrappers will include the soundest, 
best-colored leaves, the color (a dark cinnamon) should 
be as uniform as possible; this quality should include 
nothing but what is fit for wrappers. The Seconds, 
which are used as binders for segars, etc., will include 
the small top leaves, of which, if the tobacco was top- 
ped too high, there will be one or two to each plant — 
the bad colors, and those leaves somewhat damaged 
by vrorms and bad handling, but not so much so as to 
be ragged. The third class, or Fillers, will include the 
balance of the crop, bottom leaves, ragged leaves, etc. 
The tobacco should be done up into hanks of about 
one third of a pound each, or about what can be en- 
compassed by the thumb and fingers, winding at the 
but with a pliable leaf, drawing the end through the. 
hank to secure it. 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



3S 



After assorting, it should be corded up awhile, in a 
dry place, that the huts may be thoroughly cured be- 
fore packing in the cases. The pile is made with the 
bu'ts out, and tips interlapping in the middle, at every 
other course, at the ends turning the buts toward the 
end. Get upon the pile upon the knees, take hold of 
the but of a hank with one hand, drawing the leaves 
at the tip together with the other, and placing it upon 
the pile in that position, immediately putting the knee 
upon it. After the pile is finished, it should be cov- 
ered over with boards, to keep it from drying up, and 
a few days before packing into the cases, should be 
well weighted down, which will save a great deal of 
pressing at that time. Such a pile should be made 
only about two and a half feet or three feet high, and 
then closely watched to prevent a premature sweat, 
which often, if the weather be mild, will take place 
in such a pile, which will not be sufficient to render 
the tobacco fit for working, but which, if not inter- 
cepted at the commencement, will be sufficient to 
prevent a proper sweat afterwards. Check, therefore, 
the first symptoms of heat in such a pile, by opening 
the pile, and repacking it, shaking out the hanks and 
giving them time to cool off. 

Packing. — The cases are made of cheap pine lum- 
ber, three feet eight inches long by two feet six inches 
wide and high, outside measurement ; they should be 
made tight and strong ; there should be corner-pieces 
nailed in one and a half inch square, nailing to them 
well from both ways. The tobacco is packed in, with 
the buts towards each end; taking hold of the but 
with one hand, the tip with the other, and giving the 
hank a slight twist, lay it in the case in that position. 
A lever or screw can be used to do the pressing, 
whichever is the most convenient. From SCO pounds 
to 380, is the proper weight for packing; though if 
the tobacco is very dry, 400 pounds will probably not 



sweat too hard ; and if quite wet, (which it never 
should be,) 350 may. 

After being packed, the tobacco should never be 
kept in a damp cellar; a good tight barn or other out- 
building, where the cases can stand on a floor, is the 
best place. The crop usually passes from the handa 
of growers, into those of speculators and dealers, 
before the sweating season. The first symptoms of 
sweating appear about as soon as settled warm wea- 
ther comes, usually the fore part of May ; it then com- 
mences to grow warm, and wet to appearance, which 
increases for about three weeks, M'hen it reaches its 
culminating point and commences to cool off. One 
unaccustomed to the crop, upon examining it at this 
period, would be sure to think it was rotting, but if 
not too damp when packed, there is no danger. Some- 
times, if a case is known to be too wet, the lids can 
be started, to give a little vent to the steam and gases 
which are generated, and this is about all that can be 
done for it ; and it is far safer to see that the proper 
condition is secured before packing, than to do even 
this. The weight will commence to decrease about as 
soon as the heat commences, and it has been ascer- 
tained by weighing at the various stages, that more 
than half of the shrinkage is accomplished by the time 
that the sweat has reached its culminating point. 
About ten per cent is allowed for the shrinkage of a 
crop, in just the right state when jjacked ; if wetter, it 
will shrink as high as twelve or thirteen per cent, and 
if very dry, it may shrink le.ss than ten per cent. 

The different grades usually bring about the follow- 
ing prices : Wrappers, fourteen cents per pound ; 
Seconds, seven or eight cents ; Fillers, three to four 
cents. The proportion of the different grades in a 
good crop should be. Wrappers, three fifths, and Sec- 
onds and Fillers, each one fifth. 



No. X.-BY E. H. DENNIS, WAYNE COUNTY, IND. 



An intimate, practical acquaintance with the method 
of raising tobacco in the rich lands bordering on the 
rivers in Missouri, and having myself grown the crop 
there, will, I hope, enable me to give such information 
as may be valuable to those of less experience. 

Selection of Seed depends upon the kind of land 
you have and the quality of tobacco you wish to raise. 
Rich, fertile bottom-lands will grow only heavy, strong 
tobacco, and it is the interest of the fiirmer to select 
that kind of seed that will produce the plant of the 
greatest weight ; in other words, to make weiffht the 
prominent object in the result of the crop. Thinner, 
poorer land will produce tobacco of lighter weight, but 
of finer and more desirable quality, and one that will 
bring a correspondingly higher price. The "Orinoco" 
tobacco is raised extensively in Missouri and Kentucky 



for heavy tobacco, and is known in market as " Ken- 
tucky Leaf." The seed for the finer qualities passes 
(as does the other also) under different names, but may 
be procured in Pike and Calloway counties, Missouri, 
and in Virginia ; the " Orinoco," and kindred kinds, 
in Howard and Chariton counties in Missouri. I 
should suggest that the seed may be procured through 
the agents of express-companies at Glasgow, Brun.«- 
wick, and Renick for the " Orinoco," and at Louisiana 
or Fulton for the other qualities. I would recommend 
the culture of the coarser, heavier kind.s, for the reason 
that the finer quality needs much more care and expe- 
rience in the handling, in order that it may go into 
market in a condition to command such a price as its 
quality, when well handled, entitles it to. 

The Plant-Bed shouW be made the first day after 



96 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



Chtistiias, ivhen you find the surface of the ground 
without frost or snow, and dry enough to work. In 
the edge of the timber, on the south side of a piece of 
woodland, select a spot where but little or no grass 
has grown ; cut down the trees and open around it so 
that tlie sun will have full power in the bed most of 
Ihe day ; a spot (about fifty feet square for each ten 
acres of ground to be planted) should then be cleared 
entirely of roots, stones, and trash of every description 
— raked off" thoroughly ; when this is done, haul on 
dry brush, tree-tops, small dry logs, any thing that 
will burn freely, and make a brush-heap all over it, 
net it on fire, and as it burns, by means of long poles, 
move the fire and logs about until you have burned 
the whole surface of the ground of your bed to the 
depth of one or two inches. This destroys all the 
roots and seeds of grass, weeds, etc., which may be in 
the soil, and which would, if suffered to grow, inter- 
fere with the young plants. When your bed is tho- 
roughly burned over, and as soon as it is done, rake 
off the brands, ashes, etc., so as to leave it perfectly 
smooth, and with a mattock or hoe dig up the surfiice 
only an inch or two in depth, with a view to pulverize 
the yoil finely to that depth, which may be done with 
a garden-rake. When you have prepared the ground, 
take a table-spoonful of seed for each twenty-five feet 
square and mix with a pint of dry sifted ashes — a 
Binall tin pan is convenient to hold the seed — and 
hiving laid your bed off into "lands" about three feet 
wide, to guide you in sowing, sow your seed by taking 
a " pinch" at a time and go carefully over the bed ; 
BOW the mixture so as to have a surplus rather than a 
deficiency. The surplus may be scattered afterward, 
but a deficiency would indicate the seed sown too 
thick, while a part of the bed would remain without 
eeed. Rake the bed, after sowing, with a garden-rake, 
and tlien with your feet, or a small, heavy roller, go 
over it and tramp or roll the earth down hard ; build 
a fence around it to protect it from stock, and if there 
phould be lack of rain, water it. The seeds will come 
up in about six weeks from the time of planting, if the 
weather is open and warm. The bed should be kept 
covered with brush, after the plants come up, while 
there is danger of frost. 

The Preparation of Sticks should engage atten- 
tion in the spring, before plowing-time comes. They 
should be riven out of ash, hickory, or white-oak tim- 
ber, perfectly straight, about three fourths by one inch, 
and four feet long; the corners should be trimmed ofi; 
You will need about four hundred sticks for each acre 
of tooacco. The best and most convenient 

Tobacco-Barn for the farmer is a square barn, built 
twenty feet high from the ground with round logs, and 
roofed ; then a shed built all around it as wide as may 
be allowable to give the roof enough " pitch" to shed 
i-ain, with " stories" of plates three feet apart through- 
out, upon which scaffolds may be arranged with poles 
on which to hang the tobacco. The outside of the 



shed should be inclosed from the top, say Lalf-waj 
down; this will insure a free cicculation of air and 
prevent the rain driving in and injuring the tobacco. 

The Ground. — In hemp-growing countries tobacco 
is almost invariably planted in ?(ew ground, which ia 
cleared each year, so as to be added in due time to 
the hemp-fields. The late summer culture and the 
thorough weeding effectually kills all the weeds. Good 
bottom grass or other rich sod-ground, or such other 
ground as it is intended to plant, should be broken up 
early enough so that the sod shall have time to rot. 
When your plants begin to grow, and the leaves are 
as large as five-cent pieces, you should cross-plow your 
ground and prepare for setting out your crop. In this, 
as in all other crops, a good preparation of soil is de- 
sirable, and any mode that will pulverize the soil and 
tear the sods to pieces will answer your purpose. 
When this is done, take a two-horse plow and throw 
three furrows together, so that the summit of the 
ridges shall be three feet apart, or three and a half if 
you prefer to plant it wider. These summits should 
be as near straight as possible — perfectly straight rows 
of tobacco are much easier cultivated ; the rows should 
then be checked across, for which purpose I have found 
it practicable to attach a light log-chain to a small 
rope, and tie the rope around the waist of a man ; set 
a row of small stakes across the field and let him walk 
across, dragging the chain behind him, in exact range 
of the stakes, and as he comes to each one, let him set 
it over by a measure he carries in his hand, so that as 
he returns, the stakes will all be in range in the new 
row. This will check the summit of the ridges and 
leave them in good condition for setting out the youug 
plants. The old Virginia tobacco-planters mark off 
the ground each way and make a hill with a hoe, very 
carefully preserving their lines, and making every 
thing smooth. The laying off of the ground should 
be done as nearly as possible immediately previous to 
setting out the plants, so that during the time the 
plants are getting started after transplanting, the weeda 
shall not get the start of them. After the ridges are 
made, the cross-checking may be delayed until you 
commence transplanting. 

Setting out the Crop should commence from the 
fifteenth to twentieth of May, if your plants have done 
well — at least it is not best to risk the loss of a good 
season at that time unless there is danger of frost. As 
soon, therefore, after May 20th as it is safe to do so, and 
when the ground is well saturated with rain, commence 
drawing the largest plants from your bed and settiag 
them out. The leaves on the plants should be as large 
as a quarter of a dollar, or larger. Let one take a 
basket of plants, and, crossing the ridges, drop a plant 
at each check ; another, with a pointed stick to make 
holes with in one hand and a plant in the other, fol- 
low the dropper. As he reaches a hill his stick and 
plant are both ready, and the plant is quickly set, and 
as he raises up he picks up the plant dropped at that 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWERS. 



37 



place, and by the time the step is made he has it ready 
to plant, and so on ; care should be taken not to leave 
dirt so that it will wash down and cover up the plant. 
When a good season occurs, and the plants are ready, 
the whole force of the farm should be applied to the 
setting out. If the sun comes out hot, lay a small clod 
or sod on the plant after setting out, which should be 
removed after the sun declines. The crop should then 
be set out as the plants grow and the rains suit, so as 
to be all planted by the '20th of June ; and at each 
planting the ground previously planted should be gone 
over carefully to replant such as may be missing. 

Working the Crop should commence as soon as 
the plant " takes root" and begins to grow ; first with 
the hoe to clean out the hill, and afterwards with a 
plow or cultivator, and it will be found desirable to 
keep one or the other going, with hoes enough to keep 
up with it, until the plants are a foot high. About this 
time, or when about fourteen to sixteen leaves are fully 
developed on the plant, it is to be " primed" and 
'• topped." The "priming" consists in removing from 
the stalk the bottom leaves which have been bruised 
in cultivation, or become dirty and rusty from lying 
on the ground. These ar*^ taken off up to where the 
leaves are sound and whole. Then count by twos up- 
ward, and as your land may be stony or otherwise, 
leave from eight to twelve leaves to the plant, and 
pinch off the bud at the top. This is " topping" it. 
Good land will not generally mature over ten leaves to 
the plant unless it is very good. Now commences the 
busy time with the crop. Having pinched off the bud 
and stopped the upward growth of the phv-t, it will 
try to evade a legitimate spreading out through the 
leaf by " suckers," which will start out at the base of 
each stem and grow as though they were anxious to 
get to a safe size to defy you before you detect them. 
These must be kept pulled off closely, and while you are 
busy with them, you will come to a plant that the leaves 
have been eaten full of holes — all fresh as though 
something had enjoyed the business; turn up tlie leaves 
one by one, and lying close to one, in some quiet corner 
alongside the stem, you will find a dainty-looking green 
worm about the size of your middle finger. It is the 
gentli'man who has done all your mischief, and who will 
require your tliorough inspection of every plant as often 
as every four or five days to prevent his making in- 
convenient inroads upon the result of your labors. 
When little negroes are employed in this branch of 
the business, they are sometimes told they will have 
to bite off the heads of all the worms they leave. 
Plowing should be continued while the size of the 
plant renders it possible to do so with safety, and 
when the plant is wilted iu the middle of the day; it 
may be done even after the leaves cover the space 
between the rows. The later part of the season is 
regarded most favorable for " making weight," and 
the cold dewy nights of latter August and early Sep- 
tember are accounted profitable to the tobacco-raiser. 



Cutting Tobacco should commence when the plants 
in any favored part of the field b'^i^in to turn velluw 
or mottled, and indicate maturiij. Generally, a few 
hundred hills begin to mature together, and becomo 
fit for the knife at the same time. Take a short 
butcher-knife, (sharp,) and standing over the plant, 
split the stalk right down through the middle, stop- 
ping before you get to the lower leaves ; then take 
out your knife and cut off the stalk below the lower 
leaves, and take the stalk at the bottom, turn the plant 
bottom side up, and stand it on its top. It is a short 
job. Let it so stand until it wilts. If it is a hot day, 
and the sun's rays are powerful, it will scorch if ii 
lies too long. Have some long poles, of convenient 
size to handle, previously prepared and on the ground, 
and forks, so that you may build a scaffold tliree and 
a half or four feet high. One end or corner will 
commonly rest on a stump or on the fence. Having 
arranged your poles, lay smaller poles or rails across, 
and thus form a frame, across which your tobacco- 
sticks will reach. Have the tobacco-plants thus wilt- 
ed carried to the scaffold carefully, so as not to 
bruise them, and piled convenient to the '' hanger," 
who will take the plants and hang theni on the tobac- 
co-sticks, top down, by means of the split made in the 
top of the stalk while cutting. About ten plants arc 
put on a stick, at regular distances apart, and the 
sticks are then placed on the scaffold, so that each 
plant may not press closely against any other plant, 
nor touch tlie ground. This process is applicable to 
the cutti.ng of the entire crop. The plants on the 
scaffold sliould be protected from the direct rays of the 
sun on the sides, to prevent scorching, and if the 
weather is clear and pleasant, may be allowed to re- 
main out three or four days. It will cure rapidly, 
and the sticks may be moved closer together each 
day. It should, however, never receive a " wetting " 
after it is cut, before " housing." 

The Housing of the Crop is done as fas* as it is 
cured up on the scaffold, or as the indications of rain 
make it necessary, care being taken not to bruise or 
tear it in hauling. The sticks of tobacco may be piled 
upon the wagon or cart, and hauled to the barn and 
hung up, commencing in the highest part of the build- 
ing, and filling up as you go downwards. If the leaves 
are pretty well cured, you may hang it so as to touch, 
without crowding it ; if not, there should be a little 
space between. If a cold, rainy spell comes on, you 
will need to intr'>duce some means of artificial drying. 
A trench is sometimes dug, and a log or two of wood 
placed in it, and a fire made, taking care to remove 
the tobacco immediately over the fire, and avoiding 
much blaze. This is dangerous, and a better plan is 
to make a trench across the floor of the barn, of ma- 
son-work, covered with sheet-iron, and leading from a 
furnace outside the house on one side, to a chimney at 
a safe distance on the other. The color and quality 
cf tobacco may be improved by hanging it clr-sely and 



S8 



HOW TO KAISE TOBACCO. 



curing by artificial heat, watchiug tliat it don't become 
" luulvcd," or molded, while curing ; but the best 
plan for a beginner is to dry it safely, and make a 
sure crop, experimenting as he goes along, in order to 
improve the quality, as he may safely do so. When 
the stalk becomes dry and entirely cured, which will 
not usually be for some weeks, the crop is ready to 
"strip." The hanging tobacco yields to tie influence 
of a rainy day or a foggy morning, and " comes in case," 
or softens, so it will not crumble. It must never be 
handled when dry. When it is just soft, not damp, 
, or when it is barely so soft that it can be handled, (if 
it is approaching that softened state,) it may be taken 
down and taken off the sticks, and " bulked," by pil- 
ing it alongside a partition, or by itself, with the buts 
of the stalks outward in every direction, and the tops 
or leaves in the center. Several hundred pounds may 
be thus bulked down, and can be worked up while the 
hanging tobacco has gone out of case, and can not be 
touched. 

" Stripping " is performed by holding the plant, top 
/ down, with the left hand, while with the right hand 
the leaves are pulled off, taking care to have tlie stems 
all even in the hand, so that the ends are together. 
When ten to fifteen leaves have thus been grasped bv 
the right hand, change the handful to the left hand, 
and with the right, select a leaf and wrap it around 
the stems at the end, so as to bind them altogether 
and cover up the ends, then split the other leaves 
apart with the finger, and pull the end of your wrap- 
oing-leaf through, and you have a " hand " of tobacco. 
A small "hand" of leaves, uniform in size and color, 



will be found the most desirable shape to tie it in 
The bottom leaves of the plant, and all corn and 
defective leaves, should be 
tied up by themselves, 
and are known as "lugs^ 
These " hands " should 
be " bulked " again, with 
the wrapped end out, and 
covered with straw, or any 
thing that will retain the 
"case," and if sulject to 
immediate sale, may be 
boxed up or hauled to 
market. If boxed, it 
should be put in tight 
boxes — if hauled, it should 
\ be kept covered until un- 
loaded. Care must be 
taken to avoid " high 
case" — extreme dampness 
or softness in bulking to- 
bacco after it is stiipped — 
as it may be " funked " in 
bulk, and ruined ; and it 
Hand of Tobacco. should not be packed in that 

condition when it is liable to remain long. It is a crop 
that is never off of hands. The writer on one occasion 
aent a last load to market,and next day made a plant-bed. 
The present high price of the article, and the fact 
that boys and men not able-bodied may be profitably 
employed, will doubtless attract the attention of farm- 
ers, and an enhanced production be the result. 




No. XI.— BY A. C. LIBHART, LANCASTER COUNTY, PA. 



Soil, AND Situation. — If it is intended to raise a 
crop of tobacco, a primary and very important consid- 
eration is the situation and quality of the soil. The 
best situation can not always be chosen with accuracy, 
as much depends upon the season ; if it be dry, a 
meadow or other low piece of ground is preferable to 
a more elevated tract; and if, on the contrary, it 
snould prove to be a wet one, then the cultivator runs 
a great risk of losing his whole crop by mildew, frost, 
or inundation by heavy rains. The safest and surest 
is a moderately elevated situation, which may be either 
level or gently rolling ; hill-sides or steep declivities 
being objectionable on account of the liability of the 
plants being washed out by heavy rahis. The soil 
best suited to growing heavy tobacco is a deep sandy 
loam, made as rich as possible with barn-yard manure 
and thoroughly plowed and worked. Any soil that 
will hold water long about the roots of the plant will 
not do for tobacco, as in such situations it becomes at- 
tacked with a disease vulgarly called "fox-tai!," in 
irijich the new leaves, as they appear from the Ltart 



of the plant, are of a sickly, transparent, yellow color, 
spotted with greenish specks, and shriveled and curl 
ed up, not half as long nor wide as they should be, 
and if the plant is not divested of the diseased por- 
tions, finally culminating in a mass of worthless vege- 
tation. A stiif clay soil should be avoided as being loo 
liable to bake and become hard, thereby checking the 
progress of the minute fibrous roots of the plant. If 
the land be in sod, it should be plowed in the fall, and 
even if it be open, it will be benefited thereby, as the 
frost will destroy a great many of the larvae of the cut- 
worms, which are a great nuiaance among the young 
plants when just set out. 

Seed-Bed. — In the preparation of the plant-beds and 
sowing of the seed great care is required, as a good 
crop of tobacco depends greatly upon a good and 
abundant stock of plants. Select a situation free from 
the blasts of the north winds and which recciv(« aa 
much sunshine during the day as possible. Then ma- 
nure strongly with well-rotted compost, hen-manure, 
ashes or other good fertilizer, and spade to the depti 



EXPEEIENCE OF PKAcnCAL GROWERS. 



3» 



of about a foot ; then raiie or otnerwise pulverize the 
ground to as fine a comlition as it is capable of. When 
the bed has been thus prepared, the seed should be 
sown in about the quantity of a teaspoonful to every 
one hundred square feet, and in order to get it distri- 
buted taore evenly, it may be mixed in dry wood-ashes 
or sand. Sprouting the seed previously to sowing is 
not a good practice, as the germ is so delicate that it 
is apt to be injured by handling or drying up in the 
pun, besides being entangled in bunches, and thus com- 
ing up very irregularly. After the seed has been dis- 
tributed over the bed, it should be rolled or beaten 
down pretty firmly with the back of a spade ; this 
presses the earth around and against the seed, which 
enables it to germinate quickly, as, owing to its minute 
size, it is not enabled to do when lying loose and ex- 
posed to the air. In this latitude, 40'^ north, the time for 
sowing the seed varies from the fifteenth to the thirty- 
first of March, according to the season ; this renders the 
plants fit to set out about the latter end of May or be- 
ginning of June. They may be had two or three weeks 
earlier by forcing under glass ; and in high latitudes 
this will be necessary tc insure a ripening of the crop 
before frost. Whenever the surface of the ed be- 
comes dry, it must be watered with tepid water ; this 
should be done in the morning or evening. It is 
scarcely necessary to add that the bed must be kept 
perfectly free from weeds ; tobacco differs from most 
weeds when making its first appearance above the 
eiirface of the ground, by its bright green color and by 
lying very flat upon the soil. After the leaves of the 
plant have attained the size of a quarter-dollar they 
may be set out in the field, but they will be all the bet- 
ter if double that size, as they are then not so easily 
destroyed by the cut-worm. The main point, and that 
upon which success greatly depends in raising a good 
crop of tobacco, is to have good plants enough to 
fill the patch at one planting, so that the tobacco may 
be of a uniform size and ripeness when cut off". 

Varieties. — The best variety for cultivation in a 
high northern latitude is the Connecticut seed-leaf, as 
it ripens two weeks earlier than most any other varie- 
ty, cures and colors better, and commands the highest 
price in the market. The Pennsylvania seed-leaf out- 
strips the Connecticut in size and weight, but owing to 
its requiring a longer time to mature in, is not so well 
adapted to climates north of 41 ® or 42 '=' . 

Preparation of the Soil. — The manure should be 
spread and plowed down several weeks before it is in- 
tended to plant ; there is scarcely any limit as to the 
quantity of manure that may be put to the acre, it 
seeming that the richer the ground is, the larger will 
bo the tobacco. As an instance verifying this fact, a gen- 
tleman in this place raised the past season, on a half-acre 
of land, fourteen hundred lbs. of tobacco, of the aggre- 
gate value of $230. There was $25 worth of barn-yard 
manure put upon it at about the rate of fifty cents per 
oue-horse losi ; the average crop In the vicinity was only 



about twelve hundred lbs. to the acre After the land 
is plowed and a few days before it is ifl^jnded to plant, 
the soil should be well worked with a harrow or lart^o 
cultivator until it is free from lumps or clods, when il 
is ready for ridging; this is performed with a common 
plow ; beginning on one side of the field, take a Hghl 
furrow, so as to throw up a ridge about five or sii 
inches higher than the surrounding surface of th» 
field ; when arrived at the end, return another furrow 
alongside, so that the earth thrown up by the plow 
unites with that of the former furrow, leaving a rid"* 
apparently about ten inches in hight, but really onlj 
five or six, above the general level ; so proceed, making 
the apex of the ridges three and a half feet apart, unti! 
the whole is finished. Measure off the distance of thirty- 
six inches for the plant on the top of the ridge, with 
an instrument constructed as follows : take two strips 
of board, two and a half feet long and an inch square, 
make one end of each pointed ; then spread them in 
the form of a pair of compasses until the points are 
the desired distance apart, making the other ends lap 
each other ; fasten them and put a brace across about 
the middle to keep them stiff; with this instrumenl 
one person can go before, and, planting one point at a 
time on the apex of the ridge, measure off rapidly and 
correctly the place for each plant. Now take a hoe. 
and at each indentation made by the compasses, cut off 
about two or three inches in depth of the top of the 
ridge, and tap it lightly with the bade of the hoe. 
This forms a platform or " bench " for the reception 
of the plant. 

Transplanting. — When the ridge has been thus pre- 
pared, one person goes ahead witli a basket of plants 
and drops one on each " bench," another person fol- 
lowing and planting as rapidly as possible, as it is 
injurious to the plant to leave its roots long exposed 
to the air. In inserting the plant, a hole may be made 
with a pointed stick, but the most expeditious as well 
as the best way is with the hands. The roots of the 
plant are carefully inserted and the earth pressed mod- 
erately tight upon them ; care must be taken not to 
press the delicate heart-leaves, for upon their preserv- 
ation depends the future vigor of the plant. The best 
time for planting is during a warm, drizzling rain ; but 
if no such occasion presents itself when every thing 
is ready, then immediately before or after a shower 
will do nearly as well. If it is necessary to plant with- 
out any rain, it should be done in the evening, and 
each plant watered slightly. Unless absolutely neces- 
sary, never plant when the ground is in the consistence 
of mud, as the roots are doubled up and stuck to- 
gether, and there is considerable time lost in starting the 
plant, if, indeed, it ever becomes vigorous. In taking 
the plants from the bed, if the earth is not previously 
well moistened by rain, water the ground sufficiently, 
so that the plants will come up with some earth at- 
tached to the roots ; they may be pulled by taking 
hold and gently doubling up the several large leaves 



40 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



of the plant at once ; they are very nicely raised with 
a common table-fork. After the whole area has been 
planted, it should be gone over every few days, and 
such plants as have been destroyed by the cut-worms 
or otherwise replaced by a new one ; if, however, a 
plant shows signs of remaining vitality, it should not 
bo destroyed, but a new on« placed alongside, as it of- 
ten happens that a plant of the first setting, even 
though it be injured, will eventually outstrip in growth 
one of a subsequent planting; either can be used to 
advantage in replacing any missing plants at the first 
hoeing, transplanting them with a large ball of earth 
to the roots. 

Cultivation. — When the weeds begin to appear 
pretty abundantly, and after the plants have made visi- 
ble growth, a cultivator must be run between the rows, 
taking care that it does not throw up the earth on the 
ridges and cover the plants ; a cultivator that can be 
regulated in width is the best. Hoe down the promi- 
nences of the ridges to a level with the plants, and 
eradicate all weeds that have come up between the 
leaves of the plants, also transplant from any double 
plants to such hills as have become vacant. The 
plants will now begin to grow vigorously and require 
no attention beyond transplanting to fill vacancies un- 
til a new crop of weeds appear, when the cultivator 
must be again run through and the plants carefully 
hoed, fresh earth being drawn up after the weeds have 
been scraped away. Care must be taken not to hoe too 
deep close to the plant, as it destroys too many of the 
fibrous roots, which have begun by this time to per- 
meate the soil in every direction. When the weeds 
and grass have been thoroughly killed by the sun, the 
shovel-plow or hook may be run between the rows, 
and following after, uncover such leaves as may have 
been buried by the earth thrown up by the implement, 
and hoeing the ridges into an even shape, rather flat 
upon the top and rounding off gradually till they meet 
in the center between the rows of tobacco, forming a 
ditch or furrow not too deep, but answering the pur- 
pose of a drain. This is all the cultivation it will re- 
quire, but if the weeds come up between the rows 
thereafter it will benefit the tobacco as well as the 
ground, if they are scraped off with a hoe. 

Worms. — Now no attention is required until the to- 
bacco-worms appear, which, in this latitude, 40 ® 
north, 10 about the latter end of July, when it must 
be gone over every few days and the worms picked off 
and destroyed. The moth that produces these worms 
ie nocturnal in its habits, and in the twilight may be 
86cn hoveiir.g over the plants and depositing its eggs 
on the under side of the leaves ; these are of a trans- 
parent green color, and very hard to detect on account 
of their similarity in color to the leaf. The worm be- 
gins to feed as soon as it emerges from the shell, and 
gi'ows and increases in size so rapidly that it soon be- 
comes a formidable enemy to the farmer, and if not 
•jaDtiired will s )on cut the plant to shreds ; and not 



content with spoiling one plant alone, will visit ami 
demolish several more before entering the earth and 
becoming a chrysalis. Continue to visit the field regu- 
larly every three or four days until the time for top- 
ping arrives. 

Topping. — There can be no stated time for this, aa 
it depends upon the stage of growth in which the plant 
may be, and the latitude or climate. As a general 
thing it should be topped before the seed-buds are vis- 
ible, for when these appear the plant has expended 
most of its vigor and is no longer able to mature the 
upper leaves ; and it must be done at least four weeks 
before the period of heavy frosts. The number of 
leaves that may be left to a stalk depends upon the 
quality of the soil ; if it be very strong it will mature 
twenty or twenty-four leaves, but in general from six- 
teen to twenty is amply sufficient to leave on a stalk 
in any situation. In topping it is better to pinch out 
enough of the crown of the plant to leave the first two 
leaves not less than three or four inches long, as they 
grow more vigorously and mature more rapidly than 
the small and tender leaves found about the blossom- 
buds. In pinching out the heart of the plant, care 
must be taken not to break or injure the upper leaves 
that are left. When topping, the plants intended to 
produce seed for the following year's crop must be 
spared ; they should always be chosen with regard to 
the heaviest, as well as the longest and broadest leafed 
plants, as weight and size of leaf is the chief consider- 
ation of tobacco-growers. The sued-stalks should be 
left stand until the pods are fully formed and begin to 
turn brown, when the leaves may be stripped off and 
saved, and the stalk be spaded up and placed beyond 
the reach of frost until the seed is fully ripe. 

SucKERiNo. — Soon after the tobacco has been top- 
ped the "suckers" begin to appear from the junction 
of every leaf with the stalk ; they must be pinched off 
as soon as they are large enough to be caught ly the 
thumb and finger, and every new one that appears 
must be served likewise, for if left they consume much 
of the nourishment that would otherwise go to the 
leaves, besides much impairing the process of curing 
when the stalk is hung up. 

Cutting and Housing. — When the top leaves have 
attained the size of the lower ones and begin to be 
dotted with reddish spots, the tobacco is ripe and 
ready to be cut off and hung up to cure. There are 
several methods of hanging up tobacco, but the follow- 
ing two are the best and shortest : first, splitting and 
hanging it upon lath or poles and leaving it to partially 
cure in the field ; secondly, nailing it to rails with 
lathing-nails, at once in the shed. The former method, 
for high northern latitudes, is by far the best, aa it 
will cure in a much shorter time, (and thus pre vent the 
destruction of the crop by freezing in the shed,) by 
the drying of the pith of the stalk, which is the main 
reservoir of moi«t'."'c. ^t -3 performed as f<;>llows : 
iiive a ciilsci abo-it a foot long and three inches 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROWEKS. 



41 



broad, the sharp end not beveled on one side, but com- 
ing to <an edge by a gradual taper on both sides, ( a 
coramou tenon-saw will do pretty well;) place the edge 
of the chisel in the center of the stalk upon the end 
where it has been topped, and push it down, guiding 
it iu its course so is not to Ijreak or cut oif any leaves, 
to within three or four inches of the ground ; the stalk 
may then be cut off with a hatchet, or with the chisel 
if it be made pretty strong. The splitting may be done 
iu the morning when the leaves are too brittle to ad- 
mit of the stalk being cut down, and then when the 
sun has sufficiently wilted the leaves, the stalk may be 
cut and left to lie until it will bear handling without 
breaking the leaves. The lath being previously pre- 
pared, four feet in length and about an inch in thick- 
ness on one edge, and one half inch on the other, and 
two inches broad, (or poles cut in the forest will answer 
pretty well ;) then have trestles prepared high enough 
to allow the stalks to hang suspended without touch- 
ing the ground, and set far enough apart in the field 
to admit of the lath reaching from one to another ; 
now place the stalks of tobacco upon the lath, (pre- 
viously laid across the trestles,) by slipping them over 
and down until they will hang perpendicular and six 
or eight inches apart, so they will merely touch, with- 
out crowding too much. It may be left hanging thus 
exposed to the weather until the leaves are so wilted 
that the stalks hang apart without touching and the 
lower leaves begin to dry, when it is taken off the tres- 
Ues, each la(h entire, and laid upon a wagon and 
haule<l to the 

Sued or Drying-Hocse. — The shed must be con- 
Btructed of timbers strong enough to resist storms, and 
should be boarded " up and down." About every three 
feet one board should be hinged, to readily open and 
shut. If it is intended to split and lath the tobacco, 
the inside of the shed must be divided by rails into 
widths to accommodate the lath, and likewise into 
tiers, one above the other, far enough apart to al- 
low the stalks to hang from, well separate. The 
frame of rails and timbers inside the shed destined to 
sustain the weight of the tiers of tobacco (which, when 
green, is exceedingly heavy) should be strongly con- 
structed, so as to preclude the possibility of breaking 
down, for if this should happen to the upper tier, in 
all probability the whole would be tumbled to the 
ground. When ready to hang up, beginning at the 
top tier of the shed, slip on one lath after the other, 
until the whole is filled. The process of nailing it up 
to rails or strips of board, in some respects may be 
superior to the former method, as the tobacco is more 
expeditiously secured in the shed and does not require 
60 much handling, but in general there is more tobacco 
lost by being frozen in the shed tHan will pay foi' the 
difference in time and labor. Ttt ctalk should be cut 
down after the dew is off in the morning and left to 
wilt. If the sun be very hot the tobacco must be 
watched that it does not scor&h, and if this be found to 



be the case, it should be thrown in heaps about a fool 
high and three feet or less in width, and then hauled 
into the shed ; here it nmst not be piled more than a 
foot high, or it will soon heat and spoil. It should be 
nailed up as rapidly as possible ; one person sticking 
the nail in the pith of the stalk exposed by cutting it 
off from the ground, and shaking it to loosen the leaves, 
hands it to a second person, who nails it to the rail, 
far enough apart to allow of the circulation of the air 
throughout. After the crop is in, the doors and shutters 
should be opened all round, so as to allow a strong 
draft of air to pass through the tobacco and prevent 
what is technically called " burning." This is literally 
nothing more than a partial decomposition of the leaf, 
consequent upon the exclusion of air from passing 
through it while in the green state, which destroys its 
quality and texture. When dried it has a blackish 
brown color and crumbles beneath the touch. When 
the tobacco is pretty thoroughly cured, and during dry 
weather when it is very brittle, the high winds that 
prevail about that season will damage it very much if 
allowed to blow through the shed, hence at such times 
the shed should be closed on the sides whence the 
wind comes, and opened again when it has ceased to 
blow. When the leaves are all dry, or after the 
weather has been severe enough to freeze the remain- 
ing green ones, the tobacco is ready to be .stiipped. 

Stripping. — At the setting in of a warm, diizzling, 
wet, foggy spell of weather, the shed must be opened 
on all sides to allow the damp atmosphere to pervada 
the whole interior ; after the dry leaves have become 
damp enough to allow handling in any degree without 
breaking, the stalks must be taken off the lath or 
pulled down and laid in heaps about eighteen inchea 
or two feet high, and any desired length ; if it is not 
intended to sti'ip it immediately, it should be conveyed 
to a cellar or other apartment, where it will remain 
damp ; it should not, however, be suffered to remain 
longer than two or three days in heaps, without ex- 
amination, as there is sometimes sufficient moisture 
remaining in the stalks or frozen leaves to create heat 
and rot the good tobacco. If found to be heating, it 
should be changed about and aired and be stripped 
immediately. If found to be drying out, further evap- 
oration may be cheeked by covering the heaps with 
damp straw or corn-fodder. Tobacco is usually strip- 
ped into two qualities, "ground-leaf," or "fillers," 
and " wrappers ;" the leaves that lie next the ground, 
generally from two to four, are always more or less 
damaged by sand beaten on by the rain and other 
causes, hence they only command about half the price of 
the good tobacco or " wrappers." The ground-leaves 
are taken off first and tied up separately in bunches 
or "hands;" this is performed in the following man- 
ner: take off one leaf after another, until theie is 
contained in the hand a sufficient number to make a 
bunch about an inch in diameter at the foot-stalks, 
which must be kept even at the ends, and holding tnt 



42 



now TO KAISK TOBACCO. 



nuKcli clasped in one hand, take a leaf and wrap it 
around, (beginning at the end of the bunch,) confining 
the end under the first turn, continue to wrap smoothly 
and neatly until about three inches of the leaf remains, 
then open the bunch in the middle and draw the re- 
maining part of the leaf through. This forms a neat 
a]\d compact " hand," that will bear a great deal of 
liundling without coming open. After the ground- 
leaves have been removed, the good leaves are stripped 
ofif and tied up the same as the ground-leaves, with 
this exception : the leaves of each stalk should be tied 
in a bunch by themselves, to preserve a uniformity in 
color and size, as tobacco is sold in the market ac- 
cording to coloi and size, therefore if the leaves of a 
large and a small plant, or of a dark-colored and a 
light one, be tied up together, it at once diminishes 
the appearance and value of the crop. 

Bulking. — As soon as a quantity of tobacco is strip- 
ped it should be "bulked down," or if intended to be 
immediately delivered at the packing-house, put up in 
bales. A place to bulk it in should be damp enough 
to prevent the tobacco from becoming dry, and not 
damp enough to cause it to mold. A platform raised 
a few inches from the ground and open to let the air 
circulate under, must first be laid down, and then the 
" hands " of tobacco piled upon it crosswise in suc- 
cessive layers and lapping each other about three or 
four inches at the points of the leaves. If " bulked " 
beside a wall, a space must be left behind for air to 
pass through to prevent molding. It may be thus 
*'' bulked " four or five feet in hight without danger of 
spoiling. In most sections the crop is sold to mer- 
chants who have packing-houses, and who pack it in 
cases of about three hundred pounds each, and store 
it until it has gone through the '' sweating " process 
by which it becomes fit for manufacturing purposes, 
and then dispose of it to manufacturers and specula- 
tors in the city markets. 

Packing. — In order to transport it more readily, it 
is put up in bales of about one hundred pounds each. 
The process of baling is performed thus : make a bot- 
tomless box about thii-ty-four inches long (inside) by 
sixteen high and wide. On each side nail two upright 
cleats one and a half inches thick, each ten inches 
from the end. Across these cleats, parallel and even 



with the top of the box, nail a narrow strip ot board 
These strips or rails are to confine and keep the ends 
of the straw bands out of the way while packing. Now 
have a duplicate box the same size in length and 
breadth, but about six inches deep, to fit down on the 
top of the first box ; there must be three notches cut 
in the bottom of each side of this box for the banda 
to pass through. It should fit down close on the top 
of the true box. There must also be a lid made to 
slip up and down easily in the box, with three notches 
in each side to allow it to slip past the bands. When 
ready to pack, have good bands made of rye-straw, 
and wet to render them more pliable. Twist them, and 
getting inside the box, lay one band down on the 
ground, with the knot in the middle, and within three 
inches of the end of the box, and place one foot in 
each corner of the box upon the band, then push the 
ends of the band down between the outside of the box 
and the rail. There must be three bands in all, one 
at each end and one in the middle. When the bauds 
are in the box, the "hands " of tobacco are laid in the 
same as in the " bulk," keeping the ends of the bunches 
well against the end of the box, until it is filled, then 
put on the lid and press it down with lever or screw, 
whichever may be most convenient ; after it is pressed 
sufficiently solid, remove the lid and place the upper 
box in its proper position, fill up to the top with to- 
bacco and press it down again, and so until the box is 
sufficiently full to come within the limits of the bands 
to confine. Now remove the upper box and tie the 
middle band first, (this prevents the mass from ex- 
panding further,) and lastly the end ones, and give it 
another pressure to set the bands and restore the shape 
of the bale ; now pull off the box and there remains a 
neat, square bale of tobacco of about one hundred 
pounds' weight, that will bear handling and transporta- 
tion almost any where without injury or coming open. 
If the tobacco should become too dry in the '' bulk " 
to pack, it may be restored by sprinkling it lightly 
with hot water, using a small corn-broom, and re- 
" bulking " it, taking down and sprinkling one layer 
at a time and allowing it to remain about two days, 
when the water will have become diffused throughout 
the whole, and it again be fit to pack. 



No. XII.-BY JOHN J. PURSLEY, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MO. 



[Four experienced growers attested to the correct- 
ness of the process described in this essay.] 

I have grown this plant for over ten years, and have 
tried many different modes of cultivating it. There 
sre more than twenty distinct varieties, of which I will 
only mention the most valuable : 

The Yellow Prior, Blue Prior, Orinoco, Little Fred- 
eric, Big Frederic, Cuba, and Spanish tobacco. These 
are considered the most valuable in this State. The 
F:!llow Prior and Orinoco are the most profitable. 



I prefer the Yellow Prior, as it is the easiest culti- 
vated and is the most fine and smooth of the many va- 
rieties. Some growers prefer the Orinoco, on account 
of it being the heaviest. I do not for various rciison:: : 
it has large stiff fibers and ruffled stalks, which afford 
hiding-places for insects ; it molds easier, is harder 
to cure, and generally does not bring as good a price 
as the Yellow Prior. 

Selecting Seed. — In gathering seed, the largest 
and ripest bolls should be selected and put away in a 



EXPERIENCE OF PKACTIUAL GKOWEKS, 



43 



d""! place, Wheu procuring seed, at a seed-store, 
ftlwvys be careful to get new seed. When it is new it 
is of a dark brown ; when old it is lighter in color. 

The seed should be sown any tune, from the first of 
February till the tenth of March ; b'.it I have known 
it to be sown as late as the twenty-fitth of March and 
do well. 

Thk Seed-Bed should be made on a south hill-side, 
in new loamy ground, not too dry. Cut off the timber, 
and separate the trash from the coarse wood ; then 
rake off the leaves and brush, leaving the ground per- 
fectly bare ; so as to admit the heat of the fire. Then 
put the brush on four or five feet thick ; then put on 
a thick layer of the coarse wood, and then set fire to it. 
This sliould be done when the ground is in good work- 
ing order. After the bed is burnt, the ashes should 
lie on till the ground is cool ; then the brands should 
be raked off, and the ground dug up five or six inches 
deep ; this is best done with a grub-hoe ; rake and 
pick all the roots out, making it loose and mellow. 
Level the surface of the bed, and it is ready to be 
sown. Mix the seed with dry ashes, so as to sow them 
regularly. One table-spoonful of good seed will sow 
a bed twenty-five feet square, and will raise enough 
plants to set five or six acres. After sowing as regu- 
larly as possible, t!ie bed should be rolled or tramped 
with the feet until it is solid and hvel; then cover it 
up wi',h brush till spring opens ; tiien the brush should 
be removed to admit the rays of the sun, which will 
soon bring the plants ; keep the weeds and grass out 
of tl.e bed till the plants are large enough to trans- 
plant. They are handiest to transplant when their 
large-Jt leaf is three or four inches long. 

So'L AND Planting. — Tobacco can be raised on 
most qualities of soil ; but the best is. new first year's 
land ; white oak, hickory, hazel, or pawpaw land is 
preferable. After plowing, the ground should be har- 
rowed thoroughly, making it as mellow as possible., 
Checker it off with a shovel-plow, so as to form the 
hills about three feet apart ; make up small flat mellow 
hills. This should be done by the time the plants are 
large enough to transplant. Transplanting is usually 
done wich a peg, sharp at one end, making a hole suf- 
ficiently large to admit the plant ; press the earth 
closely around the roots, in the same manner that cab- 
bage is transplanted. 

We generally commence setting out tobacco about 
the first of June and continue till the twenty-fifth ; if 
set out after this, it is not apt to get ripe before 
frost. 

CtJLTiTRE. — As soon as the tobacco is set out there 
is a great destroyer lays hold of the plant, and often 
cutting the stem off, thereby ruining it. It is a spe- 
cies of black ground-worm, usually known as the 
cut-worm. These must be looked after every morn- 
ing, for Ihey do their mischief in the night, conse- 
quently their sign is easier detectt-i in the morning, 
and they have not entered deep into the ground. 



When the plant makes a start to g 'ow it soon gets out 
of tiie reach of the cut-worm; then all the vacaut hills 
should be replanted. 

As soon as the weeds and grass start tc grow, the 
hills should be scraped down with a hoe, n>t disturb- 
ing the roots of the plant. By the time the grass 
makes its appearance the second time, the tobacco is 
large enough to admit the plow. A narrow shovel- 
plow does the neatest work ; run three furrows to the 
row, not close enough to fracture the tobacco, then 
work it over thoroughly with the Loe, putting a small 
mellow hill to each plant. 

Worms. — By this time you will observe the work 
of the green tobacco-worms. They must be looked 
after at least once a week. There are two different 
species of this worm — the red-horned and the blue- 
horned, each equally destructive. One of these woims 
will soon destroy a plant. When it has finished its 
work, it enters the groimd to come up next spring, io 
the form of a fly. This fly lays her eggs on the tobac- 
co, which hatch out young worms. The egg is hardly 
as large as a mustard seed, and of a yellowish color. 
Many of these flies may be caught about Jamestown 
weeds and destroyed. They may be seen of evenings 
sucking the Jamestown blooms. Keep all destroying 
insects oft' of the tobacco while it stands in the field. 
The bud-worm was very destructive in the yeara 
1860-2; it works in the bud of the plant, making 
great havoc with the young leaves. 

When the tobacco is about a foot and a half high, 
it should get its last plowing and hoeing, and should 
have a large flat hill put around it. 

Priming and Topping. — Wheu the buds that con- 
tain the blooms make their appearance, it should be 
primed and topped. Priming is done by pulling ofiF 
the bottom leaves, so that those remaining will not 
reach the ground ; then pluck out the buds, leaving 
twelve or fourteen leaves on a stalk. 

We generally go over the field three or four times, 
topping and priming. First, topping that which is 
large enough, and letting the smaller remain till the 
next week, and so on till it is time that all should be 
topped, to escape the frost. We generally finish top- 
ping by the twentieth of August. 

If the transplanting is finished by the twenty-fifth 
of June, which it should be, the tobacco will be 
amply large enough to top by the twentieth of August, 
which will give it time to ripen by the twentieth of 
September. 

Some seasons tobacco may be planted later, but it is 
unsafe in this locality, for the frost may come and lay 
waste a summer's labor. 

Seed-Plants. — The earliest plants should be left for 
seed ; do not top them, but trim the leaves ofiF at the 
top, to about ten to a plant. 

Four flourishing plants will yield one half-pint of 
good seed. The bud-worm should be kept from the 
seed-plants, as they will enter the pods and eai the 



(4 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 



BCCd. I have caught as many as twenty bud-worms on 
one neglected seed-plant. 

SucKKRiNG. — After the tobacco has been topped 
about a week, there will be little sprouts or suckers 
put forth on the stalk, at the bu'; of every leaf. If 
they are neglected, they vrill grow up and go to seed, 
and take all the nourishment from the stalk, giving 
the plant a haggard appearance, and literally ruining 
the tobacco. These suckers must be strictly attended 
to ; they should be pulled off as soon as they have 
grown long enough to be conveniently taken hold of 
by the fingers. 

There are generally three sets of suckers, sometimes 
four. After one set is pulled off, in a week or so there 
will be another set put forth, in the same place, and 
60 on until the tobacco is ripe. 

The better the worms and suckers are kept off, the 
better the tobacco will be. 

Hauvrsting and Curing. — When the tobacco is 
ripe it has a yellow faded color, and becomes brittle ; 
the surface of the leaf is rough and ridged. By bend- 
ing the leaf short between the fingers, it will break 
before it will double. 

The sticks to hang it on should be in readiness. 
The best mode of hanging or stringing, is with a V- 
ehaped spear, made of iron or steel. The spear has a 
socket, large to admit the end of the stick. The 
sticks should be sharpened at one end, to fit the 
Bocket ; should be four feet six inches in length, two 
inches wide, and one inch thick. A stick of these 
dimensions will hold eight plants. 

The tobacco should be cut off just below the bottom 
leaf, then turn the plant upside down, and let it remain 
so till the sun wilts it. When it is wilted it can be 
bandied without breaking ; then it should be taken up 
and laid m piles of eight stalks each, placing the buts of 
the stalks towards the sun, to prevent it from sun- 
burniun: When it is sun-burnt it turns black, and it 
can not be cured any other color than black, which 
ruins its sale. 

The sticks should be strewed along, one stick to a 
pile ; place the spear on the end of the stick, and set 
the stick upright ; then take up the tobacco, one stalk 
at a time, and thrust it on the stick, letting the spear 
pass through the stalk, about six inches from the but 
end ; then take the spear off and take up the stick, 
and shake the tobacco out straight, and set the stick 
up with the buts toward the sun 

Some tobacco-growers prefer splitting the stalk 
from the top down to within about six inches of the 
but, then hang it on the sticks. But I can not agree 
with them, for it is more difficult to handle, and is apt 
to slip off of the stick, when moving it ; besides, the 
tobacco cured in this manner is not so heavy as if it 
was speared. It driea out quicker by being split, but 
the substance evaporates instead of remaining in the 
leaf. I am not certain that it injures the taste of the 



tobacco, but I am certain that split tobacco La liglitei 
than that which is speared. 

Some prefer hanging the tobacco on scaffolds in the 
field until it is ready to be put in the barn and cured 
by fire. But it is the safest to house it as soon as it is 
strung on the sticks. 

Scaffolding is done by placing poles on forks, about 
four feet apart, and four or five feet from the ground ; 
then hang the tobacco between the poles, letting the 
ends of the sticks rest on the poles. This procedure 
is unsafe, for the rain may come and saturate the 
tobacco and wash off the gum, thus making it light 
and chaffy. 

Tobacco should not be exposed to the weather after 
it is cut. It should be inunediately conveyed to the 
barn and hung up. As soon as it gets about half yel- 
lowed, a slow fire should be started under it ; if made 
too hot at first, the tobacco will turn black. About 
the second day the ends of the leaves will begin to 
curl up ; then the fire should be gradually increased, 
till it heats the tobacco blood warm ; it should be kept 
up so till the leaf is thoroughly cured. 

If this rule be strictly adhered to, the tobacco will be 
cured bright. The brighter it is cured the l)etter it sells. 

Our barns, in this State, are generally built of logs^ 
some have frames. The barn should be made tight up 
to the tobacco, which should hang about eight feet 
from the ground ; above this leave cracks or air-holes 
sufficient for free ventilation. 

A barn to hold two and a half acres of tobacco, 
which is as much as one man can attend to, should be 
twenty-four feet square. It should have five tiers of 
poles, the lowest about six feet from the ground ; these 
should extend across the barn, and be fastened at each 
end into the walls. The poles should be four feet 
apart, and the tiers directly one above another. 

The sticks which contain the tobacco should be 
placed within eight inches of each other, on all the 
poles except the bottom ones, which should be left 
vacant directly over the fire. When tobacco is nearly 
cured, it very readily catches fire. 

If there be a wet spell of weather before the stalks 
are thoroughly dry, build a fire under the tobacco suf- 
ficiently hot to keep it dry. It should not get damp 
and pliant until the stalks are dry, then it may be al- 
lowed to get damp. 

Stripping will be the farmer's labor during damp 
weather, until his tobacco is stripped and ready for 
market. 

The lugs, shipping, and manufacturing, which are 
worst, medium, and best qualities, should be separated 
at stripping. The lucfs, or worst quality, are found at 
the bottom of the plant ; they are chaffy and light 
leaves, and should be stripped from the stalk and tied 
in bundles by themselves with all of the ragged, 
black, and injured leaves. 

The second quality, or skipping tobacco, is a grade 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL GROAVEKb. 



4f 



Bbove tlie lugs ; it is tho red or brown tobacco ; this 
gliould also be tied in separate bundles. 

The best, or manufactarlng, is the finest and :.right~ 
est leaves, and should be put in bundles by itself. 

In stripping, the stems of the leaves should be 
broken oif as close as possible to the stalk ; this adds 
to the weight of the tobacco. 

In forming a bundle, the buts of the leaves should 
je placed evenly, and closely together, and pressed 
tightly in the hand ; then a leaf should be folded to 
form a wrapper two inches in width ; then wrap it 
tightly and smoothly around the buts of the leaves, 
winding it from the end down, about two inches and a 
half; then open the bundle in the middle, and tuck 
the wrapper-leaf through the opening, and draw it 
snug, so that when the opening is closed the wrapper- 
leaf will remain ; this forms a bundle which we call a 
" hand of tobacco." 

The hands should be strung on sticks, and hoisted 
Tip in the barn on the tier-poles ; eighteen or twenty 
hands may bo put on each stick, at equal distances 
apart. 

Bulking; and Packing. — Let the tobacco hang in 
the barn until within a week or two of hogsheading, 
take it down, remove it from the sticks, and put it in 
a bulk. This is done by making a platform, and cov- 
ering it with straw or hay ; then lay the hands of to- 
bacco, side by side, in layers around, with the buts 
outward -, in the same manner as wheat or oats are 
stacked. 

If the atmosphere is dry, the bulk should be cov- 
ered up closely, so that the tobacco will retain its 
moisture. It should not be too damp, for there is 
danger of its molding in the bulk. 

If it should mold, hang it up again in the barn, and 
put fire under it. The mold that it gets in the bulk 
is generally the yellow mold, which ie the most fatal. 



It sometimes gets a white n. >ld on it,, while Landing it; 
ilie barn, when the atmosphere is virv damp and 
warm ; but this does not materially irijurc it, for it 
will rub off while drawing the tobacco through the 
hands. It should be drawn through the hands every 
time it is handled, to keep it straight, and to give it a 
silky texture, which adds to its price. 

We generally send tobacco to market in hogsheads, 
and sometimes in boxes. A hogshead four feet in 
length, and three feet in diameter, is the medium size. 
One thousand pounds is considered a full hogshead ; 
but one of the above dimensions can hold one thou- 
sand five hundred pounds, by hard pressing ; but this 
blackens the tobacco, and injures the sale of it. Pack- 
ing in the hogshead is done by first laying a course or 
layer of bundles straight across the bottom, keeping 
the buts even and close together ; then fill up on each 
side of the center course, placing the buts against the 
staves ; then the buts of the hands that lie against the 
hogshead should be covered up with two or three 
others, pressed closely down. The next center course 
should be laid across the first, and dune in the same 
manner as before, and so on, crossing each course in 
succession, until the hogshead is two thirds full ; when 
the press should be applied till the tobacco is pressed 
down to within a foot and a half of the bottom of th« 
hogshead. 

The press should remain on an hour or more, in 
order that the tobacco may settle together ; then the 
press should be raised, and the packing resumed aa 
before, till the tobacco is within a foot and a half of 
the top ; then the press should again be applied till 
the tobacco is pressed half way down the hogshead ; 
the same proportion should be observed until the 
hogshead is full. Then put the head in, and it is 
ready for market. 



No. XIII.-BY JOSEPH H. DAVIS, NEWARK, N. J. 



[The following is extracted from a very elaborate 
essay, but as its matter was from observation only, it 
could not compete for a prize.] 

A beginner would ask what "kind of soil" is best 
adapted to the growth of tobacco ? and I should an- 
swer that "kind of soil" which is best adapted to 
the growth of corn, potatoes, and red clover. 

To raise either of these, the soil must be rich, deep, 
warm, and well-tilled; free from weeds, and neither 
wet nor dry. When one wishes to raise a good crop 
of tobacco, on soil destitute of any one of these qual- 
ities, he should supply the deficiency in some artificial 
way. Deep working is not to be omitted on any ac- 
count. A lot of land with a southern inclination, 
eheltered by hills or woods from high and cold winds, 
would produce better tobacco than another lot desti- 
tute of iuch protection, for the reason that cold winds 



check the growth, and high winds break the tender 
leaves badly, and thus depreciate their value. Deep- 
worked soil drains better, stands a drouth and takes 
in the air and sun's rays bettor, and is every way 
more suitable to tobacco than shallow-worked and wet 
soil. 

It is an established fact that tobacco draws largely 
on the soil for its growth, and it is absolutely neces- 
sary to have a deep and finely- worked rich soil, if the 
grower wishes large profits on his outlay. 

I will here add that I have never seen soil so rich 
that a little manure would not benefit it, and I have 
seen tobacco growing on land naturally so rich as to 
yield forty to sixty bushels of oats, or from fifty to 
eighty bushels of corn, to the acre, one or "ihe other 
of these crops having been grown on the 'ot evcrj 
year for forty-two years, without a particle of manure, 



46 



HOW TO KAISE TOBACCO. 



and the owner s;ud to me that he had cultivated this 
field the entire lime, and that a little well-rotted stable- 
manure did his tobacco good. This field was in the 
eastern part of Kentucky. 

While tobacco luxuriates in a deep, rich, warm, 
new soil, alioundiug in the salts and acids of decayed 
and burned wood, it can be profitably raised on an 
old, exhausted soil, even if it be sandy and left for its 
poverty. The ashes of wood, peat, or muck, as well 
as their pyroligueous acids, are excellent fertilizers, as 
is the ammoniacal water from gas-factories. I should 
not hesitate to cultivate tobacco on an old exhausted 
soil, even if it were a light sandy one, provided I had 
near by one of the beds of the New-Jersey green sand 
or a bed of peat, turf, or muck, in which case I would 
draw from either at least fifty ox-cart loads, in the 
fall, on to each pcre I intended to cultivate the next 
year, and spread it evenly over the intended lot, so as 
to let it have the freezings and thavvings of the win- 
ter. As soon as the spring season would permit, I 
would harrow the ground, so as to break and mix the 
muck well, and then plow eight inches deep. When 
the tobacco-plants were ready for transplanting, I 
would cross-plow the field twelve inches deep and 
harrow across these furrows, so as to again give the 
soil, and muck, peat, or sand a thorough mixing. Then, 
with the '' New Jersey corn-marker," I would mark 
it and cross-mark it three feet each way. At every 
intersection, I would put one quart of the following 
compost: fifteen bushels of wood-ashes, two barrels of 
the gas ammoniacal water or urine, and three bushels 
of fine-ground gypsum and one hundred and thirty 
bushels of the green sand, peat, or muck that had had 
a winter's fro.st. Hen manure would be a good sub- 
stitute for the gas-water or urine, but it would have to 
be soaked well. These several substances to be com- 
pletely mixed. This quantity should be prepared for 
every acre, or 150 bushels would about give a quart 
to every nine square feet of an acre. I should prefer 
to dress the ground thus, and rotate with corn, clover, 
potatoes, and tobacco, and I would not change the ro- 
tation or manuring, except to use less as the soil I 
cultivated was richer. There are many substitutes 
for each part of tlie fertilizers named. 

I nmst now return to the seed or plant-bed, which 
ehould be near the field where they are to be set, and 
in a sheltered corner for preference. The bed should 
be as thoroughly worked and enriched as the field, or 
as one would prepare a garden for choice vegetables, 
having two bushels of the compost well raked into 
each square rod. The seed may be sown in drills, 
wnicn are easier to hoe, while broad-cast is easier to 
BOW. I should prefer the drill-sowing, and not more 
than four or five inches apart, to be don*^ as early as 
spring will admit. 

The quantity of seed to be sown is the next to be 
considered. I have heai-d some growers say that a 
common pipe-bowl twice full of seed was about right 



for each square rod of seed-bed. A Virginia gi owei 
told me that he planted the seeds of five of hi.s l)est 
tobacco-stalks for every two acres of the field he 
wished to set with plants, thus making allowance for 
waste and the numerous casualties attending the young 
plants. But the most definite statement I received 
was from a gentleman in Maryland, who said his prac 
tice was to sow three ounces of seed for each ten 
acres he intended to cultivate in tobacco I Iwvo 
some ounces of Cuban seed, from which I have 
weighed, and counted enough to find eighL hundred 
and seventy-five thousand seeds in an ounce. Should 
every seed perfect a plant, it would be about sixty- 
seven times the number needed. Perliaps, owing to 
the imperfect seeds and all other circumstances that 
tend to the destruction of the young plants, it may be 
best to sow an ounce of seed to every four square rods 
of bed, and a plant to stand on every six square 
inches would give one quarter more plants than need- 
ed, allowing a rod of bed for an acre of tobacco. 
Curing. — The usual custom is to let the stalks 
hang until the stems of the leaves get dry enough to 
break when pressed in the hand. 

The Cuba tobacco-grower would force the drying in 
wet weather and retard it in dry weather, as either 
extreme is injurious ; the wet is injurious, as the leaves, 
when they change from the natural color to a pale 
yellow and light brown, easily mildew; when dry, a"? 
before-named, it is taken down. Damp weather is 
best, so as not to break the leaves, which are imme 
diately stripped from the stalks and sorted into as 
many grades as the market may require, from one to 
four and even more grades, as " bright yellow, dull, 
seconds, and ground-leaves." But I see no necessity 
of but three grades, as the over-ripe, the nm-ipe^ and 
the just ripe at cutting, and when properly dried they 
show their grade plain enough to sort. After being 
stripped and sorted, they are to be separately piled 
(" bulked " some say) in courses of leaves — two, four, 
or six tier of leaves, stems end out, and three to foui- 
feet high. The leaves should be kept straight in all 
these handlings. The heap should be made up each 
day separate, as it begins to make tobacco in twelve 
hours or so, by fermenting, which is variously called 
"curing, sweating, conditioning," etc. Soon as the 
heap begins to get warm it should be replied, putting 
the inner tier out so as to equalize the fermentatiou ; 
some repile several times and some none ; but tho 
fermentation should be kept equal, and if covered with 
old sail-cloth it can be regulated. This fermenting is 
allowed to proceed for from four to six weeks by care- 
ful manufacturers ; as it is the process that makes the 
tobacco to suit the taste of tobacco-epicures it should 
be carefully done, yet many do it in a careless man- 
ner, and thus have an article so poor as to not find 
many lovers. 

At the end of the four to six weeks the Cuba grower 
would have one side of each leaf slightly moistened 



EXPERIENCE OF PRACTICAL, GROAVERS, 



47 



with the decoction of tobacco, which is made by let- 
ting some leaves rot in clean water, and tlien he would 
tie it up in hanlis of twenty-five or thirty leaves, and 
hang one day for drying, then take it down and pack 
it in tight casks as being best. From these leaves he 
would make the best Cuba scgars. The Virginian 



grower would not wet his tobacco after it had fer- 
mented, but simply tie it in hanks so that iive or six 
would weigh a pound, and then pack it in his hogs- 
heads for market ; and this, after it h;id lain from 
one to six months in the "conditioning l)ulk8." 



GENERAL FACTS CONCEENING TOBACCO. 



BY S. 3. NOBLE, POXTIAC, MICH. 



[TnK following interesting general facts are ex- 
ti'acted from an able essay by the above-named author ; 
want of space precluded the publication of the whole 
of this and many otlier valuable articles contributed. 
We only intended to print thirty-two pages, but there 
were too many good essays to stop short of forty-eight 
pages. A supplement maybe issued hereafter, though 
it is probable that this work contains all that is needed.] 

Loudon enumerates fourteen different species of 
tobacco. Of these, but two are cultivated to any 
amount, namely, Nicotiana ncstica — Viscid-pubescent, 
leaves petioled, ovate, entire, tube of corolla cylindrical, 
longer than calyx, round, obtuse. Nicotiana Tabacenin 
— Viscid-pubescent, leaves lanceolate, sessile, decur- 
rent, tube of corolla inflated at the throat, tube acute 

The Nicotiana rustica is but little cultivated. It is 
the most hardy sort, and is grown in the colder cli- 
mates of Europe, and to soipe extent by the Nortli- 
American Indians. The Nicotiana Tabaceurii is the 
species generally cultivated ; of this there arQ sevei'al 
varieties, each possessing qualities peculiar to itself, 
or qualities supposed to be derived from the various 
modes of cultivation and curing. Each cultivator se- 
lects such variety as suits him best, having reference 
to soil and climate. The kinds more generally culti- 
vated are the Cuba and the Connecticut seed-leaf ; the 
latter is best adapted to Northern States, in nearly all 
of which it is raised to a very considerable extent. 

History. — Tobacco was first introduced into Eu- 
rope by John Nicot, ambassador of the King of France 
to Portugal, by whom the first plant was presented to 
Catharine de Medicis : it was afterwards known as the 
Queen's plant. Nicot is said to have received the seed 
from a Dutchman, who obtained it from Florida. The 
name Tobacco, by which it is now universally known, 
originated by its having been mostly introduced into 
Europe from the island of Tobago, in the West-In- 
dies. By the French it is called Tobac, German Ta- 
bak, Spanish Tobaco, and by the Italians and English 
Tobacco. 

Llnnfeus says tobacco was known in Europe as 
early as 1560. It was introduced into England about 
the year 1586, in the form of an herb, and used by 
AVaiter Raleigh for smoking. Raleigh received it 
from Captain Ralph Lane It has since been intro- 



duced into almost every European country and some 
parts of Asia. The English Parliament prohibited 
the cultivation of tobacco as a crop, and it is now only 
grown as a curiosity in the gardens of amateurs. Some 
of the European governments ipipose excessive duties 
on imported tobacco. France received one year ten 
million dollars revenue from it. It is estimated that 
an aggregate revenue of over fifty million dollars is de- 
rived from tobacco by all the foieign governments 

Tobacco, as a staple, has long been cultivated in Mary- 
land, Virginia, North-Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
and Missouri, but for a few years past it has been 
largely raised in New-England, New-York, Michigan, 
and Illinois, and it will soon become a staple in most 
of the Northern States. 

Mkdicinal Propertiks. — Tobacco is a powerful 
narcotic. Taken in small doses it is sedative, gently 
quieting the nerves, producing sleep; in lai'ger doses it 
acts as an emetic and diuretic. If taken in excessive 
doses, it produces nausea, vomiting, spasms, and con- 
vulsions, which often terminate in deatli. 

Che.mical Properties. — An analysis of the ashes 
of tobacco, by Professor Johnston, shows the follow- 
ing constituents in their several proportions per cent : 

Pot-Ash, 12-U 

Soda, 007 

Lime, 4590 

Magnesia, 13-09 

Chloride of sodium, 8'49 

Chloride of potassium, 8'93 

Phosphate of iron, 543 

Phosphate of lime, 1'49 

Sulphate of lime, 6-35 

Silicia, 8-01 

100-00 

From the above analysis, it will be observed that ol 
the mineral matters contained in tobacco the following 
predominate: silicia, potash, lime, and magnesia, with 
a large proportion of the phosphate of iron and sul- 
phate of lime. There is in tobacco a volatile alkali, 
which may be known by its smoke changing the color 
of flowers — turning red to purple, and purple to 
green. DiflF.-rent kinds of tobacco are distinguished 
by the peculiar odor emitted : this variation is in 
y^rt due to the different modes of curing the leaf 



^ 



HOW TO RAISE TOBACCO. 




THE TOBACCO WORM. 

(From the "American Agriculttoist" for April, 1863.) 



The above engraving represents one of our most 
voracious and destructive insects. It is shown in its 
different stages of larva, chrysalis, and imago, or moth 
The larva or worm, fig. 1, jg a great pest upon potato 
and tomato vines, and upon tobacco. It is especially 
injurious to the latter crop, as it perforates the leaves 
and renders them ragged and worthless. The worm 
as it comes from the egg is so small as to be unob- 
served, but having an enormous appetite, it devours 
rapidly, and soon grows to about twice the size repre- 
sented in the cut. When not feeding, it lifts up the 
head and fore-part of the body, and remains apparent- 
ly lifeless. From its resemblance in this position to 
the Egyptian Sphinx, Linna?ns gave the name Sphmx 
to the genus. The larva is of a light green color, with 
whitish oblique stripes, and has a horn upon the rear 
end of the body. Though it is repulsive in appearance 
It IS perfectly harmless to touch, and may bo picked 
off with the hands without fear. After it has reached 
Its full size, it leaves trie scene of its ravages and goes 
into the earth, where it throws off its skin and be- 
comes a brown-colored chrysalis, fig. 2. The curious 
projection, like a handle, is a sheath which holds the 



tongue of the future moth. The moth or perfect in- 
sect, is represented in the engraving, fig. 8, of thi 
natural size. It is of a gray color, with orange-colored 
spots on each side of the body. As there are five of 
these spots on each side, it is called Sphi»z qtiingve- 
maculaius, or Five-spotted Sphinx. The motlis may be 
seen towards night flitting about the flowers, from 
which they suck the juices by means of their remark- 
able tongue, which is five or six inches long. When 
the tongue is not in use, it is closely coiled up and hid- 
den between the two feelers. From the manner of 
their flight and feeding they are frequently mistaken 
for humming birds and are called " huuiming-bird 
moths," and " honi-blowers." The moths should 
always be destroyed if possible; by so doing we pre- 
vent the production of several hundreds of most de- 
structive worms. Naturalists make one or two other 
species, which closely resemble the Five-spotted Moth, 
and are only distinguished by characters which would 
not be noticed except by the entomologist. [The il- 
lustrations above were in part re-sketched and en- 
graved from figures in Harris' valuable work on In- 
sects, referred to in March Agriculturist, p. 71.] 



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